















CteJ^Z 

Rnnk - h *'■ ( 2 / y* 


Copyright N° 

COPYRIGHT DEPOSIT. 













































































































































* 



































L;Ai 





















































































































































































































V 




































































- 






































































































































































































































































































































’ 











BOYS OF LIBERTY LIBRARY. 


12mo. Cloth, handsomely bound. Price, each, postpaid, 50 cents. 


PAUL REVERE and the Boys of Liberty. By John De Morgan. 

THE FIRST SHOT FOR LIBERTY or The Minute Men of Massachusetts. 
By John De Morgan. 

FOOLING THE ENEMY. A Story of the Siege of Boston. By John De Morgan. 
INTO THE JAWS OF DEATH or The Boys of Liberty at the Battle of 
Long Island. By John De Morgan. 

THE HERO OF TICONDEROGA or Ethan Allen and His Green Mountain 
Boys. By John De Morgan. 

ON TO QUEBEC or With Montgomery in Canada. By John De Morgan. 
FIGHTING HAL or From Fort Necessity to Quebec. By John De Morgan. 
MARION AND HIS MEN or the Swamp Fox of Carolina. By John De 
Morgan. 

THE YOUNG AMBASSADOR or Washington’s First Triumph. By John 
De Morgan. 

THE YOUNG GUARDSMAN or With Washington in the Ohio Valley. 

By John De Morgan. 

THE CRUISE OF THE LIVELY BEE or A Boy’s Adventure in the War 
of 1812. By John De Morgan. 

THE TORY PLOT or Saving Washington’s Life. By T. C. Harbaugh. 

IN BUFF AND BLUE or Serving under Old Put. By T. C. Harbaugh. 
WASHINGTON’S YOUNG SPY. By T. C. Harbaugh. 

UNDER GREENE’S BANNER or The Boy Heroes of 1781. By T. C. 

Harbaugh. 

FOR FREEDOM’S CAUSE or On to Saratoga. By T. C. Harbaugh. 
CAPTAIN OF THE MINUTE MEN or The Concord Boys of 1775. By 

Harry Irving Hancock. 

THE TRADER’S CAPTIVE or The Young Guardsman and The French 
Spies. By Lieut. Lounsberry. 

THE QUAKER SPY, A Tale of the Revolutionary War. By Lieut. 
Lounsberry. 

FIGHTING FOR FREEDOM or the Birth of the Stars and Stripes. By 
Lieut. Lounsberry. 

BY ORDER OF THE COLONEL or The Captain of the Young Guards- 
men. By Lieut. Lounsberry. 

A CALL TO DUTY or The Young Guardsman. By Lieut. Lounsberry. 

IN GLORY’S VAN or The Young Guardsman at Louisbourg. By Lieut. 
Lounsberry. 

THE YOUNG PATRIOT or The Young Guardsmen at Fort William 
Henry. By Lieut. Lounsberry. 

“ OLD PUT ” THE PATRIOT. By Frederick A. Ober. 

THE LEAGUE OF FIVE or Washington’s Boy Scouts. By Commander 
Post. 

THE KING’S MESSENGER or The Fall of Ticonderoga. By Capt. Frank 
Ralph. 

DASHING PAUL JONES, The Hero of the Colonial Navy. By Frank 
Sheridan. 

FROM MIDSHIPMAN TO COMMODORE. By Frank Sheridan. 

THE CRUISE OF THE ESSEX. By Frank Sheridan. 

THE LAND HERO OF 1812. By C. C. Hotchkiss. 

FOLLOWING MAD ANTHONY or The Drums of Germantown. By T. C. 
Harbaugh. 


Following Mad Anthony 

Or 

The Drums of Germantown 


BY 

T. C. HARBAUGH 

t* 

AUTHOR OF 

‘'Under Greene’s Banner,” “The Tory Plot,” 
“Washington’s Young Spy,” “In Buff and 
Blue,” etc., etc. 



PHILADELPHIA 

DAVID McKAY, PUBLISHER 

604-608 South Washington Square 


Copyright, 1912, by 
David McKay 




4 ’jro 

CCI.A312508 


Contents 


I. 

The Song .... 



5 

II. 

A Surprise for Mistress Bess 



17 

III. 

The Letter From the Inside 



3 i 

IV. 

Under False Colors 



43 

V. 

The Enemy’s Pledge . 



56 

VI. 

Within the Shadow . 



69 

VII. 

Priscilla’s Victory . 



82 

VIII. 

Danger .... 



96 

IX. 

In the Enemy's Camp 



110 

X. 

The Council of War 



123 

XI. 

When Blades Are Drawn 



135 

XII. 

Master Hapgood's Story . 



148 

XIII. 

Besieged .... 



161 

XIV. 

The Chasseur . 



174 

XV, 

A Ride with General Howe 



187 

XVI. 

The Night March 



200 

XVII. 

Germantown 



213 

XVIII. 

In Chew’s House 



225 

XIX. 

A Dash for Liberty . 



238 

XX. 

The Peace of War . 



251 




























































































Following Mad Anthony 


CHAPTER I 

THE SONG 

“ Sing it again ! Yes, give us the rebel song once 
more. It’s the best one I’ve heard since I landed in 
this blasted country. Come, my young fellow, sing it 
and sing it through.” 

“ Yes, let's have it ! It would hang some people, 
but we’ll see that it brings you no harm.” 

Thereupon a young fellow of perhaps seventeen, tall 
and as straight as an Indian arrow, stepped forward 
and sang in clear tones as follows : 

“ He rides like the wind in its fury and might, 

He stops for a moment the foemen to fight, 

The men of King George doth encumber the plain, 

For they fall like the leaves before Anthony Wayne — 
Hurrah for Mad Anthony Wayne I 

“ He’s mighty and free and he fears not a crown, 

He forces the fortress, he storms thro’ the town, 

And the king on his throne now is mourning his slain 
Who lie in the path of Mad Anthony Wayne — 

Hurrah for Mad Anthony Wayne ! 


6 


The Song 


“ Then drink to the health of this warrior so bold, 

Whose deeds thro’ the years will forever be told, 

The British turn fighting, they charge but in vain, 

O’er the fighting and fallen sweeps Anthony Wayne — 
Hurrah for Mad Anthony Wayne ! ” 

It was a strange time and place for a song like that. 

Philadelphia had fallen into the hands of the British. 
The battle of Brandywine had witnessed the repulse of 
the Americans, and Lord Howe had taken possession 
of the city. 

There his redcoats revelled and carried matters 
with a high hand. 

No longer was the city under the rule of “ Old 
Put ” who had attempted to keep the British out, and 
who had ruled the loyalist Quakers with a rod of 
iron. 

“ Old Put ” was the man for the place and he would 
have stretched a few necks but for the lenient qualities 
of Washington, with the result that so long as the 
Americans held the city, that long did the Quakers 
foster the spirit of love for the king. 

Now, however, the tide had turned, the enemy held 
Philadelphia,, but Washington was just a few miles 


The Song 


7 


outside watching his opportunity, which was soon to 
come. 

The song echoed through a large, high-ceiled room, 
tenanted by six British officers and the young singer. 

They had been having a merry time, bottles and 
glasses were on the table and, from the hue of the 
cloth, a good deal of wine had been spilled. 

The youth was an excellent singer and his voice 
went to every part of the room while the officers 
leaned back in their seats and listened. 

This youth, whose name was Ben Markley, de- 
lighted to sing the rebel song. 

He threw all his soul into it for he was rebel him- 
self — rebel to the core — and it pleased him to throw 
the hot verses of the ballad into the teeth of the 
enemy. 

“ By Jove ! that's rebel for you ! ” cried one of the 
redcoats as the last word fell from the singer's lips. 
“ It's all I can do to listen to it. I trust we soon shall 
meet this famous Mad Anthony Wayne — this warrior 
drover — as he is called. He should adorn the first 
tree we encounter, eh, boy ? ” 


8 


The Song 


Young Markley’s face flushed, but he kept back 
the reply that leaped unbidden to his tongue. 

“ You don't answer me. Come, sirrah, don’t hold 
back on account of your surroundings. Speak your 
mind, no matter if we are the men of King George.” 

“ Then, let me say that you will have a good time 
catching Mad Anthony.” 

“ Hear that prophecy, will you, men ? ” laughed 
the speaker in red. “ He thinks we will never get 
hold of this rebel general, but he will see differently in 
a few days.” 

Ben Markley looked away. 

“ Come, boys ! A toast to the king ! And, by 
the way, we will have our young guest drink the 
same.” 

“ Not I ! ” cried Markley. “ I was not brought here, 
I trust, to be thus humiliated.” 

“ Humiliated ! Just hear him ! Why, it's the high- 
est honor that can be conferred upon any one. 4 The 
health of the king.’ ” And all rose to their feet with 
glasses poised in their hands. 

“ Pick up your glass ; it’s full ! ” roared the leader 


The Song 


9 


of the merry set to the boy. “You’ll get out of this 
in a moment and ” 

“ But I cannot, sir," broke in young Markley. “ I 
cannot drink the health of your king. He is not 
mine ” 

“ Not yours ? By thunder, sir, you shall drink for 
those words. Not your king, eh ? We'll see about 
that.” 

Every eye was fastened upon the youth. 

But he stood his ground like a hero and did not 
wince. 

“ Pick up your glass and drink ! ” cried the officer 
again. “ Now or never ! ” 

“ Let it be never.” 

The youth spoke calmly. 

“ The next thing we know you’ll be sneaking be- 
hind the heels of this rebel general. Mad Anthony 
Wayne, eh ? It’s a good name surely, for, from what 
I’ve heard of him, he must be crazy.” 

“ Not quite as crazy as you think,” smiled young 
Markley. “ Wayne is a good fighter and on several 
occasions has made your men show him their backs.” 


JO 


The Song 


“ This is worse than ever. Now, young sir, you 
shall drink to the king." 

Ben Markley did not move. 

He merely looked into the flushed face of the 
speaker and then for a moment down at the glass. 

“ All ready now," cried the toast-master of the 
little board. “ All ready, I say. Here’s to King 
George ! May he live to see every rebel in North 
America dangling from the trees of the forests." 

This sentiment was received with yells of delight 
and glasses were placed at every pair of lips but one. 

Ben Markley did not touch his goblet. 

“ You carried out your words, I see ! " roared the 
officer who had taken the matter of Ben’s drinking 
into his own hands. 

“ I could not help doing so." 

“ And you will not drink to the king ? " 

“ I dare not." 

“ Come, that is no excuse. I will not listen to any 
excuses. You must." 

A defiant look came into the youth’s eyes at this. 

The other officers saw that their companion was 


The Song 


il 


overheated with wine and did not care to have him 
embroiled in any way with the young rebel. 

The hour was late, for the clocks of old Philadelphia 
had just tolled off the hour of midnight, and the 
sentries in the streets below had proclaimed in loud 
tones, “ All is well." 

Ben Markley evidently saw that he was in for 
trouble with the Britisher, for he stepped back and 
seemed to brace himself against the wall. 

They had picked him up on the street under pre- 
tense that he was wanted for a certain purpose when, 
in fact, they wanted him to sing the song he could 
sing so well. 

Now that he had sung it for them they pretended 
that he had insulted the king, and wanted to show 
him how mean a British soldier could be. 

The drunken officer looked down the table at their 
enforced guest, but the boy did not show any signs of 
fear. 

In another moment he turned half-way round and 
looked toward the door. 

“ Don’t let him out, Markern ! ” shouted the officer. 


12 


The Song 


“ He shall not quit this room till he admits that he has 
insulted the king and makes ample apologies.” 

At the same time the officer left his chair and came 
round the table. 

Ben Markley watched him keenly. 

“ Here !” cried the soldier. “ I’ll wring your young 
rebel neck unless you act right. Come, confess 
that you’ve insulted the king or I’ll carry out my 
threat.” 

He was almost within arm’s reach of the youth and 
the others were enjoying the scene. 

Ben watched the soldier with a good deal of interest, 
for he felt that in a short time he would have to 
measure arms with him. 

“ You won't, eh ? ” cried the tipsy redcoat. “ Why 
don’t you go to your rebel general since you think so 
much of him ? ” 

" I may join him soon.” 

“ But not until we have dealt with you,” was the re- 
ply. 

The following moment the officer made a pass at 
the youth, but missed him and sprawled on the floor. 


The Song 


J 3 


His companions set up a loud laugh and gathered 
round him. 

Ben Markley looked on without sympathy. 

As the fallen officer staggered to his feet he let out 
a mad oath and laid his hand on his sword. 

His eyes seemed to flash fire. 

“ Come, Nolan ” 

“ Let me alone. I’m capable of dealing with this 
young rebel and I intend showing him that he has no 
right to insult the king of England.” 

“ Of course he has no right, but we ” 

“ Silence ! ” cried the drunken officer as he struck 
the table with his fist. “ Now, young sir, apologize 
to me or, by my life ! I’ll show you what an officer of 
His Majesty’s army can do when he dons his fighting 
garments.” 

As Ben remained silent the soldier came once more 
at him and then they met. 

It was not the youth’s intention to injure the man, 
but as he came at him so furiously he was forced to 
throw out his fist and to strike in self-defense. 

This he did as well as he could, and, so well was it 


H 


The Song 


done, that the soldier measured his length on the floor 
under a chair. 

Silence fell over the little crowd at this and Ben 
looked up and down the table wondering what would 
come next. 

“ Kill the rebel ! ” shouted a large man at one end 
of the table. 

“ Break his head against the wall ! " 

“ Come, gentlemen," said one more moderate than 
the others. “ Our comrade provoked the youth. He 
is a little too far gone with wine to-night to listen to a 
rebel song with calmness. Pick him up there one of 
you and " 

“ And take it out of the young rebel’s hide the next 
moment ? ” 

“ We’ll talk about that later." 

Some one stooped and pulled the stricken officer to 
his feet. He looked around with a stare and indica- 
tions of a pair of black eyes already in sight. 

It was -seen that the young patriot was amused by 
the officer’s appearance. He just couldn’t help it for 
the sight was quite comical. 


The Song 


*5 


“ Lemme at him,” cried the defeated one as he 
tried to free himself from his comrade’s grasp to get 
at Ben Markley. “Jus’ lemme show him that he 
can't insult King George, that he can’t refuse to drink 
to his health after singing a rebel song.” 

But he was held back against his protestations and 
Ben was caught by the arm and pulled down along 
the table. 

“ Get out of here at once,” said a voice at his ear. 
“ You won’t be safe in this room in five minutes. I’ll 
show you the door.” 

Young Markley was escorted to the door by the 
officer who held his arm in his grip. “ Now get away 
as soon as possible. You can go to your General 
Wayne, or to the devil, for all we care, but see that 
you don’t sing that rebel song too often.” 

There were loud voices behind Ben which told 
him that the redcoats were getting angry as they 
gathered round the victim of his fist, and he saw that 
it behooved him to get as far from the party as. pos- 
sible. 

Therefore he looked up into his benefactor’s face as 


i6 


The Song 


he reached the threshold and a moment later he had 
stepped out into the night. 

The door closed behind him with a bang. 

As the young patriot moved down the street he 
broke into a light laugh : 

“ They would have me sing the rebel song and then 
they got mad about it,” he said to himself. " That’s just 
the way with those redcoats. But half of them were 
drunk back there and that accounts in a great meas- 
ure for their action. Now I will have something to 
write to Captain Lowry of Washington’s army, and 
I hope the letter will reach him. My Lord Howe is 
carrying on with a high hand here and should be 
curbed.” 

With this the youth turned a corner, nearly run- 
ning into a couple of hilarious fellows on their way 
home, and in another moment he too had disappeared. 


CHAPTER II 


A SURPRISE FOR MISTRESS BESS 

In another part of the city, now under British rule, 
and at the same time that witnessed some of the 
events of -the preceding chapter, a man who wore the 
garb of his religion paced the floor like a man under 
excitement. 

He was large and strong. 

His smooth face was indicative of power and con- 
centration and his hands, which were large and 
scrupulously clean, he rubbed together with manifest 
impatience. 

Every now and then he looked toward the door as 
if he expected to see it fly open and admit some one. 

Nearly everybody in Philadelphia knew Thomas 
Ferguson, the rich Quaker. 

The man was childless, but had a niece who dwelt 
with him in the fine mansion that stood a little way 
back of the street, with a grove of elegant trees in its 


i8 


A Surprise for Mistress Bess 


front. Nothing had ever stood between Thomas 
Ferguson and his desires, so far as money was con- 
cerned. 

He had all that wealth could buy and all the human 
heart could wish for. 

In years he was not much past fifty and bid fair to 
reach the allotted threescore and ten. 

While he wore the garb of his sect he was not alto- 
gether a man of peace. 

He had given Putnam a good deal of trouble during 
that commander’s rule in the city, and it was his boast 
that he was the first to welcome Cornwallis when he 
reached the city after the battle of the Brandywine. 

Thomas Ferguson was loyal to the king, and on 
several occasions had given freely of his wealth to 
assist the cause. 

As he paced the room he now and then smiled to 
himself. 

But at the same time he did not forget to watch the 
door, for he was expecting a visitor, notwithstanding 
the lateness of the hour. 

The last rebel soldier had been driven from the city 


A Surprise for Mistress Bess 


*9 


and Master Ferguson was wont to say that Philadel- 
phia had seen the last of the Continentals. 

At last he caught the sound of footsteps beyond the 
door and paused. 

Some one was on the other side. 

Suddenly the door opened and a man who looked 
like a person of importance stood before Ferguson. 

The Tory Quaker held out his hand and welcomed 
his visitor most cordially. 

Then he led his caller to a large armchair with 
cushioned sides and back and bade him be seated. 

“ Well,” began Ferguson, “ and how goes it, my 
dear general ? ” 

“ Everything is more than passing fair,” was the 
reply, and the speaker smiled in Ferguson’s face. 
“We cannot hope to meet these audacious rebels very 
soon, for after the whipping we gave them at the 
Brandywine they keep their distance.” 

General Huston was one of the youngest brigadiers 
in the British army, a great favorite with Lord Howe, 
and trusted by Cornwallis. 

It was a late hour for the transaction of any sort of 


20 


A Surprise for Mistress Bess 


business, but he had come to the home of Thomas 
Ferguson, and it was natural that something of the 
highest importance had guided his feet thither, else he 
had remained away. 

“ I am glad to hear you say that everything is 
progressing at a satisfactory rate,” answered Ferguson. 
“ We must reach out and show these rebels that they 
are not feared by the king's men. My Lord Corn- 
wallis assured me but to-day that this thing would be 
done, but, as you know, while we are inactive here, 
Washington and his rabble may try their hand at a 
little surprise like they did at Trenton.” 

The other laughed. 

“ The same conditions, my dear Thomas, cannot ob- 
tain the second time.” 

“ I'm glad to hear you say this,” returned Ferguson. 
“ That was a bad affair at Trenton — bad for us, I 
mean. Who ever heard of such audacity ? Here’s a 
man with a ragamuffin army half frozen and stretched 
for miles along the Delaware in the dead of winter. 
His sentries die on their posts and when they march 
the snow becomes red with their blood. But this 


A Surprise for Mistress Bess 


21 


same commander, I say, crosses the river at the dead 
of night and falls upon our post at Trenton, kills its 
commander, and takes nearly the whole outfit prison- 
ers. Who ever heard of such a thing, I should like to 
know?” 

“ It was a terrible blow, that's a fact,” admitted 
Huston. “ You see it was one of those surprises that 
no one ever dreamed of.” 

“ No one but the rebel Washington.” 

“ That is true.” 

“ Well, and why don't we teach him a lesson?” 

“ I think we did that at Brandywine. And we’ve 
driven the rebel congress out of this city, and it is 
now in our hands. We have full possession.” 

“ That is right, but if we don’t look after this 
same Washington he’ll be hammering at the gates of 
Philadelphia.” 

“ That can never be ! ” smiled the officer. “ But let 
us come to the other matter, Friend Thomas.” 

“ As you wish. I've been waiting on you for some 
time.” 

“ I was delayed a little on my way thither. I had 


22 


A Surprise for Mistress Bess 


to stop a while on the street and watch a party of our 
men on their way home from a night of it." 

“ That’s what weakens the king’s army in North 
America," said Ferguson quickly. “ It is drink and 
carouse all the time. Why, sir, if Washington could 
line the roads with liquor and see that it flowed like 
water in the captured cities he could just lie back 
and bide his time. It would not be long before 
he could capture a lot of stupid men in red, for 
drunkenness is the curse of the British army in this 
land." 

The officer admitted that this was true, nor did he 
seek to excuse thq, prevailing vice. 

“ Now, sir/’ he said, turning the subject, “you are 
ready to talk to me on the other matter ? *' 

" Quite ready, general." 
a< \Vhere is Mistress Ferguson ? " 

“ She has retired." 

“ I thought ” # 

“ That I would keep her up till after our confer- 
ence ? I did. not see fit to do this for she is a young 
lady with delicate nerves and I did not think it proper 


A Surprise for Mistress Bess 


2 3 


to let her hear my decision until to-morrow. I hope 
you will pardon my action in this regard, gen- 
eral ” 

“ I had hoped to meet Mistress Bess/' put in the 
British officer, “ and I must decline to proceed further 
until she has been apprised of my visit.” 

The proud Quaker bit his lip and looked away for 
a moment. 

“ It shall be as you wish,” he said, turning to his 
visitor. “But I will not be responsible for the mood 
in which my niece appears to-night.” 

“ Never mind her mood,” laughed the other. “ She 
has a right to hear your decision, and ” 

“ I must say, general, that she has been of late a 
good deal irf the company of a young lady who re- 
mained in the city after General Putnam withdrew his 
forces.” ' ~ * 

“You mean Mistress Beverley, I suppose?” 

“ Mistress Priscilla Beve*rley who came to the city 
after a certain episode that preceded the surprise at 
Trenton. It seems that this young woman, who is 

c-~ 

intensely rebel in her beliefs, came into possession of 


24 


A Surprise for Mistress Bess 


certain papers which are believed to have been stolen 
from Colonel Rail at Trenton a few days before the 
surprise. She was then staying at the home of a 
friend of the king’s, but when he discovered that she 
had received those papers he promptly shipped her, 
and had her escorted to one of our camps where she 
remained until after the battle of Princeton, when she 
came to this city.” 

“ These fair rebels are not dangerous,” laughed 
General Huston of the king’s army. 

“ To my notion they are to be watched,” was the 
reply. “ As I was saying, Mistress Bess has been of 
late a good deal in the company of this fair rebel and, 
as a matter of course — for the minds of girls run in 
the same channel, you know — she has about turned 
rebel herself ! ” 

“ Not Mistress Ferguson ? ” 

“ The same. I could not check her, though I tried. 
She is not one of these 4 dangerous rebels,’ but she is 
sprightly and has ideas of her own.” 

“ It is not what I expected, after all the care you 
have taken with her.” 


A Surprise for Mistress Bess 


25 


“ These girls get away from the leading strings 
early in life and form ideas of their own.” 

“ But let us test this young lady. I think I am 
bold enough to tame her.” 

Byron Huston crossed his legs and watched Fergu- 
son leave the room. 

“ Turned rebel, has she?” he mused aloud. “ That’s 
a pretty go now, isn’t it? Just to think of the thing. 
Here is a young lady not quite out of her teens, the 
niece of the biggest king’s man in Philadelphia, taking 
sides with the rebel Washington. And I have bar- 
gained for her hand. I wonder why the old fellow 
sent her to bed when he knew I was coming to-night ? 
She won’t show any of her newly imbibed rebel spirit 
in my presence, for she might get a calling down. 
Funny, isn’t it? Well, Master Huston, you can’t 
fight for the king all the time without making a little 
love, therefore you are to be excused.” 

By this time a young girl had been aroused from 
her dreams and told to descend, dressed, to the parlor, 
at once. 

She stretched and looked first at the man who 


26 


A Surprise for Mistress Bess 


stood on the threshold, but said nothing, only nodding 
obedience. 

She hastily dressed herself by the light of several 
candles and tripped down the stair. 

As the door was thrown by her fair hand General 
Huston fell back with a cry of surprise, for she stood 
before him in her fresh beauty which, to say the least, 
was bewildering. 

“ I must apologize for having sent for you, Mistress 
Ferguson,” he said. “ The hour is late, I know, and 
you have just been disturbed from your ‘ beauty 
sleep ’ ; however, I trust you will pardon me, but as 
this is an important affair in which you are deeply 
interested ” 

“ What ! ” exclaimed the fair one. " Has Wash- 
ington or Wayne surprised some of the king’s out- 
posts ? ” 

“ Far from it,” said Huston. “ We are too sharp 
for these rebels and they have no chance to steal a 
march on us.” 

“ Of which no doubt you are glad, General Huston.” 

“ We are quite ready for them no matter at what 


A Surprise for Mistress Bess 


2 7 


hour they come. There will be no more repetitions 
of Trenton, I can assure you, Mistress Ferguson. But 
let us come to more important matters.” 

“ I cannot conceive anything that could be of more 
importance in your mind than the safety of the king’s 
army.” 

“ There is, I assure you, Mistress Ferguson ; but I 
must let your uncle talk.” 

Whereupon Thomas Ferguson, putting on a grave 
face which indicated that he was about to say some- 
thing of great importance, shifted his position a degree 
and said : 

“ My dear niece, knowing that you have reached 
that age when you naturally look for a protector not 
connected with the family, I have taken the liberty of 
helping you to a conclusion in a little matter which 
cannot be but of the greatest benefit to you and your 
future happiness.” 

*' For which, my dearest uncle, I thank you,” was 
the response accompanied by a curtsey. “ I fear I 
have not deserved this attention on your part, but I 
shall try to feel grateful.” 


28 


A Surprise for Mistress Bess 


“ She’s trying to play a little game of her own,” 
said Huston to himself. “ That’s easily seen, and she 
has a mind of her own, I take it, besides.” 

Meantime Mistress Bess was waiting. 

“ In short, my dear child — I will not keep you in 
suspense — I have chosen a husband for you ” 

" For me ? ” and the next moment the young girl 
had thrown herself into the Quaker’s arms. 

Thomas Ferguson, when in certain company, had 
discarded the “ thees ” and “ thous ” of his sect, and, 
only when with such people did he make use of them. 

“ A husband for me, my dear uncle ! ” cried Bess. 
“ How kind and clever you are, to be sure ! I never 
dreamed of such attention on your part.” 

Ferguson gently disengaged the arms which had 
encircled his neck and held Mistress Bess almost at 
arm’s length. 

“ I am glad you take it all in good part,” he said. 
“ Life is uncertain during these times of turmoil, and 
when you have been suitably married off ” 

“Just listen to him, General Huston!” broke in 
the girl. “ Did you ever hear of such kindness on a 


A Surprise for Mistress Bess 


29 


guardian’s part ? A husband for me ! Don’t you 
think I am to be congratulated ? ” 

Huston could do nothing but bow. 

“ Now, since you have taken my action so well, my 
dear Bess,” said Ferguson, “ let me have the pleasure 
of introducing you to your future husband.” 

As he spoke General Huston rose to his feet and 
the fair girl was turned about until their eyes met. 

“ What joke is this and at this hour ? ” cried the 
young lady. “ Here I am wakened from my beauty 
sleep and summoned down-stairs to be told that I am 
to be married. Then I am told also that my welfare 
is to be placed in the keeping of my friend, Gen. Byron 
Huston, of the king’s army. But this is a pretty play, 
my dear uncle. This ” 

“ It is no play, Mistress Bess,” put in the astonished 
Ferguson. “ I was never so much in earnest in all 
my life.” 

“ Truly, uncle dear ? ” 

“ Truly, my child. General Huston has been 
chosen for your husband, but you are to name the 
day.” 


3° 


A Surprise for Mistress Bess 


“ How clever ! ” cried the beauty, clapping her 
hands. “ Then I will name it at once. General Hus- 
ton, I become your wife when the king of England 
proclaims the colonies free and forever independent.” 
She was at the door with her last word. “ Good- 
night, dear uncle. Good-night, General Huston ! ” 
and the next moment she was bounding up the broad 
staircase again. 


CHAPTER III 


THE LETTER FROM THE INSIDE 

The following day a youthful officer who was at- 
tached to General Wayne's famous “ Legion ” re- 
ceived a letter which he hastily opened. 

It was not very lengthy, but he perused it with a 
great deal of interest. 

As it may have excited the reader’s curiosity we 
give it in full because it is destined to have a bearing 
on our story and to throw some light on the particu- 
lar time of which we write. 

The letter was dated at Philadelphia, and ran as fol- 
lows : 

“ My Dear Friend : 

“ I trust this will reach you, as I send it by 
private post, for the enemy is ever watchful here and 
we dare not excite his curiosity too far. First of all 
about myself since I saw you last after the hard, hot 
day at Brandywine. You will remember, my dear 
captain, that I disappeared after the last charge, for I 
saw that I might be needed in the city. I effected my 
escape by dogging the footsteps of the Fortieth Foot, 


3^ 


The Letter From the Inside 


which suffered so much from Mad Anthony’s spirited 
attacks that day. They did not discover me and I 
entered the city with them. I have not been very 
busy since coming back to Philadelphia, but, at the 
same time, I haven’t relaxed any of my vigilance. 
We have succeeded in organizing a secret lodge which 
is known among us as the True Hearts of Liberty. 
Thus far the enemy remains unsuspicious regarding 
our order. We have picked up a good deal of infor- 
mation concerning his numbers and plans, and we 
hope to do still better in the future. 

“ Last night I fell in with a lot of roystering fellows 
in red who took forcible possession of me, and the first 
thing I knew I was in their midst in a large room on 
Race Street where they were having a great time with 
cards and wine. I did not know for some little while 
why I had been taken to the room, but when they 
called upon me to sing * Hurrah for Mad Anthony 
Wayne ' I suspected the truth. Those fellows, all of 
whom were more or less tipsy, wanted to hear a real 
rebel song and, as they had discovered somehow that 
I could sing it with gusto, they resolved to have me 
do so. I professed a decided disinclination to sing it, 
but at the same time I wanted to din it into their ears 
for old times’ sake. It would be a little revenge after 
Brandywine, I thought. 

“ I sang it with all the spirit I could throw into the 
lines and they applauded it as a good rebel air. Then 
they wanted me to drink to the king, but that was car- 
rying the joke a little too far. I was perfectly willing 


The Letter From the Inside 


33 


to sing, but to do the other went * against the grain ’ 
as we sometimes say. I resisted as gently as I could 
at first, but the leader of the party, a boisterous fel- 
low, came at me with a curse and a threat and I was 
forced to send him reeling under the table. After that 
I fully expected to have to fight my way to the door 
and probably would have done so had not another 
officer come to my assistance and I escaped further 
insult. 

“ All of which goes to show, my dear Captain 
Lowry, that one must watch his p’s and q’s in Philadel- 
phia while it is in the hands of Lords Howe and Corn- 
wallis. As to other matters it is rumored that a part 
of the army will soon march out on a hunt for Wash- 
ington, and I really wish they would, for I would 
then hear some good news. I am not afraid but that 
our friends will give a good account of themselves and 
that Mad Anthony will teach the redcoats another 
lesson they will not soon forget. They cannot get 
too many of these lessons, for they are arrogant and 
insulting, and the Quakers, who are nearly all Tories, 
are giving them all the aid and comfort they can. 

“ By the way, there is one Quaker here who would 
look magnificent at the end of a rope. I refer of 
course to Master Ferguson who continually hobnobs 
with the great officers of the line. It is currently re- 
ported that his pretty niece, Mistress Bess, is engaged 
to General Huston of the army, but I am of the 
opinion that the girl herself has not been consulted in 
the matter. I had the pleasure of meeting her the 


34 


The Letter From the Inside 


other night under circumstances that led me to believe 
that she is not the loyalist her uncle is. Truth to tell, 
friend Lowry, she was actually riding with Mistress 
Beverley whom you know so well, and I put this and 
that together, forming an opinion of my own. How- 
ever, you can hardly tell about these fair creatures 
these times. I have hopes that Mistress Priscilla will 
convert Mistress' Bess into a rebel, for then we might 
get news of worth through her, while she remains 
under her uncle’s roof. 

“ I will write further in the near future, but mean- 
while if anything of importance happens I will not 
hesitate to let you know. By the way, I thought I 
saw that young Long Island boy, Tom Hapgood, in 
the city last night, but I cannot think I was correct, for 
for him to venture here just now would be to put his 
neck into the halter. And that is the very thing we 
should avoid if possible. Remember me to Captain 
Pierce of the Boys of Liberty, who performed such 
heroic feats at the Brandywine, and say to him that I 
trust the next fight we have I shall hear an equally 
good report from them. We must never desert the 
cause and I am sure that under such a matchless leader 
as the great and liberty-loving Washington, we shall 
at last achieve a glorious independence. 

“ Faithfully yours, 

“ Benj. Markley.” 

Captain Frank Lowry of the Legion read this letter 
several times before he looked up. 


The Letter From the Inside 


35 


He knew the writer quite well, having met him 
some time previous to the fight at the Brandywine ford, 
and he knew, too, that he could be trusted to the 
limit. 

When he had finished the letter for the last time he 
thrust it into his pocket and strolled through the 
camp. 

Washington, after the fight at Brandywine, had 
fallen back to a secluded position not far from Phila- 
delphia which had fallen into Lord Howe's hands. 

Once the American commander had marched out to 
give the enemy battle and the two armies stood face 
to face with one another, ready for the conflict, but a 
heavy rain-storm broke over their heads rendering the 
ammunition useless, so that the engagement did not 
come off. 

Perhaps the Americans would have retrieved the 
disasters of the last battle had they been permitted to 
attack ; but seeing that they were not enabled to do 
so, they had marched back to their cantonments where 
Washington busied himself with planning new cam- 
paigns. 


3 6 


The Letter From the Inside 


He was never idle. 

Surrounded by generals noted for their indomitable 
courage, he never lacked for advisers, and with the 
cool-headed Knox to hold in check the impulsive 
Wayne, he gave himself over to plans for Lord Howe’s 
overthrow. 

Captain Lowry had not proceeded far when he 
heard his name called and upon looking round he be- 
held Wayne himself. 

It is not necessary for me to depict the character of 
this foremost friend of liberty at this stage of his 
career. 

He was the most fearless of all the heroes of the 
Revolution. 

Born without fear and dashing and impulsive, Mad 
Anthony Wayne was the beau ideal of the American 
army. 

His nickname of “ Mad Anthony ” had been fairly 
won on more than twenty fields where his desperate 
charges had struck terror to the hearts of the foe. 

It was Wayne who once told Washington that he 
would storm the infernal regions if he (Washington) 


The Letter From the Inside 


37 


would order the advance, and he meant just what he 
said. 

The future hero of Stony Point was at the time of 
which we write, September 29, 1 777, in the prime of life. 
His figure was inclined to stoutness and his face was 
handsome in expression. But in battle this mild face 
seemed to transform itself into that of a fiend, and 
his soldiers were ever willing to follow where he led. 

Washington trusted Mad Anthony Wayne. He 
saw in him one of the bulwarks of freedom on this 
continent, and throughout the whole war there existed 
between these two great men a spirit of love that 
others might have emulated. 

When Captain Lowry walked toward General 
Wayne he saw that the famous soldier had something 
of more than passing interest on his mind. 

Wayne did not lead Lowry to his tent, which was 
close by, but began the conversation at once. 

" What is this I hear from the city, Captain 
Lowry ? ” asked the general. 

Frank Lowry’s look was a question. 

“ Ah, perhaps you have not heard as yet,” pro- 


38 


The Letter From the Inside 


ceeded Wayne. “ It amounts to this : It is rumored, 
so the news reaches me, that some of our friends in 
the city have formed a league for the furtherance of 
our cause. I heard this the other day and so I sent 
one Tom Hapgood of the Boys of Liberty into the 
city.” 

Captain Lowry started a little for he knew then 
that Ben Markley must have seen Tom. 

“ I have heard but little about the league,” an- 
swered Frank. “ I am in receipt of a letter which 
confirms the report, but beyond that I am in the 
dark.” 

“ I fully expected a report from my young spy ere 
this,” pursued Wayne. “ It is possible that he may 
have fallen into the hands of the enemy, though I 
warned him to exercise all the caution possible. 
However, as you know, Captain Lowry, one is often 
caught in spite of all this.” 

Frank Lowry nodded, for the fate of Nathan Hale, 
the martyr spy of the Revolution, came before his 
eyes. 

“ Now, I am not going to send another spy into 


The Letter From the Inside 


39 


that city without first hearing from Private Hapgood ; 
but I would like to have information concerning this 
Liberty League. I thought perhaps you might have 
a friend in Philadelphia who would know something 
about it ” 

“ I have more than one friend in the city/’ gently 
interrupted Frank with some enthusiasm. “ I have 
just received a letter which acquaints me of the 
formation of the league, but does not give me any 
particular information regarding it.” 

“ Indeed ? ” smiled Mad Anthony. “ Then I have 
come to the right place for news.” 4 

Frank then told the general all he knew about the 
True Hearts of Liberty and ended by relating Ben 
Markley's adventure with the tipsy officers. 

The story seemed to please Wayne, for he smiled at 
the narrative and assured Frank that he would like to 
meet this bold young patriot who had flung his name 
into the teeth of the enemy. 

“ Master Markley can do the cause a great deal of 
good,” remarked Mad Anthony. “ In the first place, 
he is in the right position to extract a good deal of 


40 


The Letter From the Inside 


news from the enemy and secondly lie has the cour- 
age of his convictions." 

“ I can heartily recommend Master Markley, for I 
saw some of his pluck at Brandywine." 

“ That is good. We will depend on him. Now if 
Private Hapgood of the Boys of Liberty would only 
report we would feel better over the situation." 

Just then a newcomer was seen approaching and 
both Frank and Mad Anthony looked at him in 
silence. 

He was an old man, driving a dilapidated looking 
cart, to which was hitched a diminutive specimen of 
the donkey race. The driver was seated on a lot of 
damp hay while he industriously applied a long gad 

to the withers of the lagging animal. 

% 

“ Ho ! there, stranger," called Wayne, as the old 
man appeared about to flank them and get away. 

The little beast was brought up standing at the 
voice and the queer specimen on top of the hay 
looked quizzically at the officer. 

" Wot you want with Tim Bowers ? " queried the 
old man. 

#■ 


The Letter From the Inside 


4 1 


“Just this way a moment, Master Bowers,” said 
Wayne. “ We won’t detain you long. Just a 
minute, please.” 

“ Who be you ? Not Washington ? ” 

" I have not that honor,” smiled Mad Anthony. 
“ Whence come you ? ” 

“ But who be you ? ” 

“ I am General Wayne.” 

“ Gee ! In the name of Jehoshaphat ! the great and 
only Mad Anthony Wayne ? ” 

“ That’s what I’m sometimes called.” 

“ Wal, this is luck for sartain. An’ you are Mad 
Anthony ? I’ll be switched ! Want to see me, eh ? 
Wal, I want ter see you, gineral.” 

The old man began to slide from his hay, but all at 
once he stopped and peered into Captain Lowry’s 
face. 

“ Who be this young Tartar, gineral ? ” he asked. 

“ Captain Lowry, of the provincial army.” 

“ Purty young, but there’s fight in his eye if I mis- 
take not. It’s powerful surprisin’ how some of these 
young fellows fight. They say you’ve got a com- 


42 


The Letter From the Inside 


pany of young chaps in your Legion that fought to a 
finish at Brandywine." 

“ Captain Lowry was one of the number," quietly 
said Mad Anthony. 

“ You don’t tell me ! " and the next moment Master 
Bowers was on the ground holding out his hand to 
Frank. 

“ Powerful glad ter see you," he cried. “ Fightin’ 
used ter be my forty, but I’m gettin’ a little old now. 
I fought with Braddock at the Monongahela and thar 
I seed Washington in red fightin’ for the king. Times 
have changed since then. But, gineral, don’t let me 
continue my preface. I’ll jes’ open the volume at an 
interestin’ p’int. I’ve jes’ come from Philadelphy, and 
I’ve got some news for you." 

“ For me ? ’’ 

“ For Mad Anthony Wayne, ef you are the man, 
an’ I guess you are from what they told me how you’d 
be lookin’." 


CHAPTER IV 


UNDER FALSE COLORS 

Old Mr. Bovvers had seemingly convinced himself 
that he had found the proper party, for he reached 
under the bottom of one of his trouser legs and, after 
feeling there a little while, produced a bit of folded 
paper which he handed to Mad Anthony. 

General Wayne took it with eagerness and looked up 
at the old man while he held the message in his hand. 

“ How are our friends in Philadelphia ? ” he asked. 

“ I reckon as how you might consult that paper 
for a full report,” was the reply. “ I’m merely the 
messenger, that’s all. But I might say in passin’ that 
the enemy is pretty much at hum in the city, seein’ 
as how he has everything his own way.” 

By this time Mad Anthony had opened the letter 
which was quite brief and was devouring its contents. 

Frank Lowry looked on, but did not interrupt the 
general. 

“ It’s all right, I reckon ? ” said Timothy Bowers. 


44 


Under False Colors 


“ All right, thank you,” answered Wayne and then, 
as the old man gathered up his lines preparatory for a 
fresh start, he continued : 

“ I hope you hadn’t any trouble coming through ? ” 

“ None ter speak of. I met a few redcoats, but I 
convinced ’em that old Tim Bowers was the biggest 
piece of innocence they ever saw. They took me at 
my word an’ let me through.” 

“ You were fortunate, Master Bowers. I believe no 
answer is required to the letter. I shall report your 
act to General Washington.” 

“ I ruther you wouldn’t do anythin’ of the kind, 
gineral. You see I’m sort o’ modest like, an’ I don’t 
want the gineral ter think that I’m lookin’ for no- 
toriety.” 

“ Very well, then,” replied Wayne. " If you’re go- 
ing on, good-morning.” 

The old man lifted his battered hat, gave the donkey 
a prod with the gad, and the “ procession ” started. 

The smile over the grotesque picture faded slowly 
from Mad Anthony’s features and he turned to Cap- 
tain Lowry. 


Under False Colors 


45 


“ Here is news indeed,” said he. “ Our friend Tom 

Hapgood has fallen into the enemy’s hands and ” 

“ Will be executed for a spy ? ” 

“ Not if we can prevent, Captain Lowry. Here is 
the letter which one of our friends in the city en- 
trusted to Tim Bowers.” 

General Wayne handed the message over to Captain 
Frank who read as follows : 

“ To General Wayne : 

“ One Tom Hapgood, said to belong to your 
Legion, has been apprehended in this city as a spy 
and, unless rescued, will meet the fate allotted to such 
persons. He maintains his innocence and the enemy 
really have no convincing proofs, but he has been rec- 
ognized as a Long Island boy by several British re- 
cruits and you know what this means. He is con- 
fined in a building adjoining General Howe’s head- 
quarters and the espionage is very strict. If he is to 
be saved something must be done at once. We are 
watchful, but fear we cannot rescue him alone. 

“ Yours for Liberty, 

“ The True Hearts.” 

“ This confirms the existence of the secret order,” 
said General Wayne, with a glance at Frank. “ Our 
friends will not be able to save Tom Hapgood from 


4 6 


Under False Colors 


the noose. We must take up the matter ourselves. 
It is dangerous work, but we must take it up." 

“ You can use me in the affair in any way you see 
fit," spoke up Frank. 

“ Thank you, Captain Lowry. Just now I was 
thinking about a plan that might succeed. It was 
this : I suppose no one would be admitted to the 
presence of the captive. But were some one to be 
caught under suspicious circumstances — I mean if 
some one were arrested for a spy — he might be made 
to share Private Hapgood’s captivity." 

“ That is possible." 

“ I deem it probable," corrected Mad Anthony. “ I 
have read of just such a case. But let me think the 
matter over. I do not think our friend is in any 
immediate danger — that is, he will not be executed 
to-day." 

“ There’s no telling what these red-coated scoundrels 
may do." 

“ We’ll take the risk at any rate ; ’tis the best we 
can do. That man Bowers deserves a good deal of 
credit for his coolness. He would have been hanged 


Under False Colors 


47 


in less than an hour had he fallen into the enemy’s 
hands with this letter in his possession.” 

“ It might be well to send back a verbal answer to 
the person who gave him that note ? ” 

“ Indeed it might. Do you hunt the old man up 
and tell him to say to that unknown friend of ours that 
we are on the alert; nothing more is needed. The 
Unknown will understand it.” 

Captain Lowry saluted and posted off while Mad 
Anthony walked in an opposite direction. 

It took Frank some little time to unearth the old 
man and his donkey, but he accomplished his mission 
at last and delivered his message. 

“ Master Bowers,” said Frank eagerly, “ that was a 
smart chap to send the message to Mad Anthony.” 

The old man looked at the youth with a smile. 

“ Chap ? ” he echoed. “ Wal, I never heard a gal 
called a chap afore.” 

Frank started and showed his surprise. 

“ Oh, it was a young lady, was it?” he ejaculated. 

“ Wal, she looked feminine, that is ef I’m a jedge o’ 
sech things in my old age.” 


4 8 


Under False Colors 


" What was she like, Master Bowers ? ” 

“ Come, now. Thar’s no gettin’ anythin’ out o’ this 
old plug,” grinned the old man. “ In the first place, 
I wouldn’t give the gal away, an’ secondly I don’t 
think I ought ter say a word more’n I hev.” 

“ Very well,” answered Frank, not a little put out 
at what Bowers had said. “ I only thought I’d 
like to know who sent the message, for it is im- 
portant and I may have to look up the person before 
long.” 

“ I’d advise you ter keep out o’ Philadelphy jes’ 
now. It’s a regular hornets’ nest for any one who 
don’t like King George. Why, they wouldn’t stop a 
minute ter hang you jes’ because you belong ter Mad 
Anthony’s Legion which they hate as the devil hates 
holy water. No, I've said too much already,” and the 
old man struck the lazy donkey with the gad and the 
animal pulled himself slowly together. 

Baffled in his search for information, though he 
had discovered something, Captain Lowry looked 
after the holder of the secret, wondering if they would 
ever meet again. 


Under False Colors 


49 


He was drawn out of his silence by footsteps be- 
hind him and he turned to greet a young officer of 
his own age who smiled cordially as he came up. 

The newcomer was Captain Benjamin Pierce of the 
Boys of Liberty, Frank’s companion-in-arms, and a 
young soldier of great merit. 

“ What is this about Mistress Beverley’s refusal to 
drink to the king? " asked Benjamin. 

Frank shook his head. 

“ You fetch me news, Benjamin ! ” he exclaimed. 
“ I have just heard a story about one Ben Markley 
who did this thing, but nothing as to Priscilla's similar 
action. When did it happen ? ” 

“ Several days ago over in the city." 

“ It is news to me." 

“ There must be something in it, though, if some 
one else did the same thing, one would suppose that 
the two acts were one and the same. But my infor- 
mation comes pretty direct." 

“ Through what channels ? " 

“ Through a prisoner whom the picket brought in 
an hour ago. The fellow tries to play off Tory, but 


5 ° 


Under False Colors 


he walks like a soldier, and it is evident he has been 
in the ranks.” 

“ And he says that Mistress Beverley refused to 
drink the 'king’s toast?” 

“ That is what he says. He states that it was at a 
banquet given by one of General Howe’s officers — one 
Major John Andre, I am told. Just how Priscilla 
came to be present at such a function the prisoner 
does not state.” 

“ There may be some mistake here. She promised 
us, you know, Benjamin, to get into no trouble while 
in the city, and I cannot believe that she would 
lose her head in this manner. Where is the pris- 
oner?” 

" He has just been taken over to the 4 pen.' ” 

“ Let me have a talk with him,” cried the young 
captain. “ This is important if true. Surely if Pris- 
cilla did this thing they did not let it escape un- 
noticed ? ” 

“ It created a good deal of excitement, the prisoner 
said, but Major Andre interfered in her behalf and a 
good deal of the odium has fallen upon him.” 


Under False Colors 


5 


Frank Lowry posted off to the spot where the 
prisoners were confined and asked for the one just 
brought in. 

When he appeared he was left alone with the young 
provincial who went at him at once. 

“ What’s this about the refusal of Mistress Beverley 
to drink the king’s health ? ” 

“ Who told you ? ” 

“ Never mind that. You’ve started the story. Now 
give me the truth.” 

“ Well, that’s just what happened.” 

“ Tell me everything.” 

“ Will it do me any good ? ” eagerly asked the 
man. 

“ It may.” 

“ I’m no soldier,” protested the captive. “ I am 
simply John Martin from below.” 

“ You look too much like a soldier to be plain John 
Martin from below,” replied Frank. 

“ But I am.” 

“ We’ll talk about that some other time.” 

“ What will they do with me ? ” 


5 2 


Under False Colors 


“ We don’t do anything with plain prisoners of war; 
but we hang spies ! ” 

Frank looked the man fairly in the eye while he 
spoke and saw him quaver. 

Then he turned to the guard who stood near and 
said in tones intended for the prisoner’s ears : 

“ Has this man been searched, guard ? ” 

“ I believe not, sir. He was brought in as an 
ordinary prisoner and it wasn’t thought worth while 
to ” 

The prisoner’s voice interrupted the sentry. 

“ I’ve lied a little, sir,” he said to Captain Frank. 
“ I am not John Martin, but Gerald Redfern of the 
Royal Reds.” 

“ Ha ! so you’ve changed your tune, have you ? ” 
smiled Captain Lowry. “ If you can tell one story 
why not half a dozen ? Which one are we to believe? 
I guess we'd better search you. Here, guard.” 

The sentry came forward. 

“ This man has just said that his first story is a lie,” 
Frank said. “ It is well to search him at once and 
thoroughly.” 


Under False Colors 


53 


“ But ” began the prisoner. “ I am not a 

spy ” 

“We can’t help what you are not. It is what you 
are that we care about.” 

The guard was a stalwart fellow and inclined 
to be rough, and the way he went at his task 
showed Frank that the duty would be performed to 
the letter. 

The prisoner protested, but with no avail. 

He threatened to refer the matter first to General 
Wayne and then to Washington himself, but Frank 
stood by and looked on while the soldier went on 
with his task. 

Suddenly every vestige of color left the prisoner’s 
face and he looked appealingly to Frank Lowry. 

“ Here’s a paper ! ” said the guard with a grin as 
he pulled a folded sheet from the coat lining on the 
fellow’s left shoulder. 

The man was now as white as a cloth. 

“ For God’s sake ! ” he cried, “ don’t proceed 
further ! ” 

“ Why not? ” 


54 


Under False Colors 


“ Because I am relieved of everything I carried on 
my person.” 

“ Go on, guard,” commanded Captain Lowry. 

The prisoner, a strong man, sprang up and pushed 
the guard against the wall of the tent. 

His eyes flashed and his breath came and went like 
the breath of a tiger. 

Already he had the poor guard by the throat and 
was choking him in approved style when Frank, see- 
ing that another minute would settle the sentry’s 
career, dealt the prisoner a blow on the head with the 
butt of his pistol which caused him to release his hold. 

“ Let me go ! ” cried the man, as he recovered and 
held out his hands to Captain Lowry. “ I will tell the 
truth and give you one thousand pounds for my re- 
lease. I am neither John Martin nor Redfern of the 
Royal Reds. I am Captain Lloyd Montressor of the 
Dragoons, son of the Earl of Seavoy and heir to 
millions. Let me pass, sir, and I will sprinkle your 
path with sovereigns. I cannot die the death of the 

spy. I — I Oh, my mother who predicted such 

a fate for me ! Stand aside and let me pass ! ” 


Under False Colors 


55 


“ Let you pass ? ” cried Captain Lowry, as he 
planted himself the firmer in the prisoner’s presence. 
“ Not for all the millions of the Seavoys ! ” 

The young man looked at Frank a moment, then 
covered his face with his hands and groaned aloud. 


CHAPTER V 


THE ENEMY'S PLEDGE 

Captain Montressor of the royal dragoons found 
himself in a ticklish place. 

He stood a self-confessed spy in the camp of Mad 
Anthony Wayne, and if he had studied the career of 
that famous officer well he must have seen that he had 
a slim chance for escape. 

His first story regarding his identity had been dis- 
proved by the discovery of the paper in the lining of 
his coat, and he therefore saw that the best way out 
of the tangle was a confession. Frank caught on to 
the truth the moment the paper was placed in his 
hands, and when he had perused it he knew that the 
young officer’s doom was sealed. 

But he sympathized with the young spy. 

Montressor was his senior by a few years, but he 
looked like a manly young fellow, and that is why the 
heart of the young provincial went out to him even 
though they were foes. 


The Enemy’s Pledge 


57 


When the British captain made the last pathetic 
appeal Frank turned away. 

“ You will not escort me to your general, will you ? 
You will give me a chance to escape, and I promise 
you on the honor of a king’s man that I will never be 
caught in such a position again.” 

It was a trying moment for young Lowry. 

But when he thought of his friend Tom Hapgood’s 
peril in Philadelphia his heart grew cold again, and he 
resolved to let the rules of war deal with the redcoat. 

“ For heaven’s sake, think of my mother ! ” cried 
the young officer. “ I am her only child. It will 
kill her. I am only obeying the orders of my gen- 
eral. Curses upon him for sending me upon such a 
mission as this ! ” 

“ I have,” said Frank, turning suddenly upon him, 
“ a friend in your camp at this moment who has been 
arrested as a spy.” 

“ His name?” 

“ Tom Hapgood.” 

“ Yes, I know.” 

“ What ! are you aware of his predicament ? ” 


58 


The Enemy’s Pledge 


“ I am ; I helped to arrest him." 

“ And what is the proof against him ? " 

“ He was caught in the city and recognized by a 
man from his native heath on Long Island." 

“ Was that all ? " 

“ It was a dangerous recognition." 

“ Perhaps." 

“ Moreover, he did not try to disguise himself. He 
admitted that he was from Long Island and also that 
he had served in the American army." 

“ Is his service in the cause of liberty to be his 
condemnation ? Were any papers found on his per- 
son ? " 

“ Nothing was found upon his person, sir. But 
you see that one can enact the role of spy without 
having anything compromising with him." 

“ That is true and you should have remembered that 
when you entered our lines." 

“ Fool I was that I did not ! " cried the young 
Briton. “ I see my mistake now. But, sir, if you will 
permit my escape I will see that your friend, Tom 
Hapgood as you call him, does not pay the penalty 


The Enemy’s Pledge 


59 


that attaches itself to those who do what he evidently 
has done.” 

“ But you cannot save him.” 

“ I give you my word of honor that I will save 
him or present myself here for punishment within 
forty-eight hours.” 

Frank looked searchingly at Montressor. 

Honesty and frankness beamed in his eye, which 
seemed to have taken on new hope. 

It was a great temptation for the young patriot. 

“ But let me come to another subject for a moment,” 
Frank said. “ What about the young lady who re- 
fused to drink the king’s health ? ” 

“ She did refuse.” 

“ What were the circumstances ? ” 

“ There was a ball given by one of our high officers. 
She came with a friend of hers named Mistress Fergu- 
son. This young girl came, I believe, from Boston, or 
at least such is the report in our camp. A good deal 
of hilarity reigned on the occasion and some of our 
officers became overheated with wine. Toasts were 
proposed and drunk and at last some one proposed 


6o 


The Enemy’s Pledge 


one to the king’s health, when what did this young 
woman do but turn her goblet down.” 

" It was a bold move.” 

“ Nothing could have been bolder. Of course it at- 
tracted the attention of all. She became the cynosure 
of all eyes and, as she stood at the head of the table, 
she was the observed of all observers.” 

“ They tried to force her to drink the king’s health, 
I suppose ? ” 

“ They did. There was a great uproar, for it was 
an act which could not be permitted to escape. There 
would have been violence perhaps had not Major John 
Andre, than whom there is not a more chivalrous man 
in our army, stood between the young lady and her 
enemies. He got her out of the muddle as diplomat- 
ically as he could for he is noted for his shrewdness, 
and the upshot of the whole matter was that the fair 
rebel, if you will allow me the expression, left the 
house before the ball was over.” 

“ So that is the story of the rebel of the Quaker 
City ? ” said Frank with a smile. “ She is now under 
the ban, I presume ? ” 


The Enemy’s Pledge 


61 


" Decidedly so.” 

“ And ostracized ? ” 

“ So far as our society goes, certainly. Not only 
this, but she is in danger of insult and her friends 
should see that she is removed from the city as soon 
as possible.” 

“ Or she will be regarded as a secret agent of Wash- 
ington’s ?” 

“ That is it precisely.” 

“ And will probably be arrested ? ” 

" For her sake I fear so.” 

“ But you have not told me the name of this offend- 
ing fair one.” 

“ She is a Mistress Beverley.” 

“ Ah ! ” exclaimed young Lowry, although he had 
already guessed the identity of the young lady. 
“ They should not have pressed her so closely know- 
ing, as they probably did, that she came from Boston 
where our people are hot against the king. Wasn’t it 
a plot or something of the kind to draw her out and 
get her into trouble ? ” 


“ I have heard inklings of that.' 


62 


The Enemy’s Pledge 


“ Indeed ! And is this the chivalry of your soldiers 
— to get a young lady into a predicament like that ? ” 
Young Montressor flushed. 

“ It takes all sorts of men to make up an army, you 
understand,” he said. 

“ That is true and a pity ’tis 'tis true,” replied 
Frank, remembering his Shakespeare. “ Who was at 
the head of this conspiracy against Mistress Beverley ? ” 
“ I have heard a rumor, nothing more.” 

“ Well, what does Dame Rumor say ? ” 

“ She fixes the blame upon one Lieutenant Cummings 
of the Queen’s Rangers.” 

“ A roystering young blade, eh ? ” 

“ An impulsive young fellow famous for his con- 
quests of women’s hearts. I know but little about 
him and a good deal of that is hearsay.” 

“ What could his motive have been, think you ? ” 

“ It is said that he wanted to ingratiate himself into 
Mistress Beverley’s graces and that she repelled him.” 

“ When, like the serpent, he turned on her and 
thought to get her into trouble.” 


It looks that way.” 


The Enemy’s Pledge 


6 3 


“ The infamous scoundrel ! ” cried Frank. 

“ Is Mistress Beverley a friend of yours ? ” asked 
Captain Montressor. 

“ I know of her,” admitted Frank. 

“ She is quite beautiful and vivacious,” was the re- 
ply. “ I met her once and was charmed by her pres- 
ence.” 

“ Well, sir,” and young Lowry looked again into 
the deep hazel eyes of the prisoner. “ You promise to 
get Tom Hapgood out of durance if you are released 
without trial ? ” 

“ Upon my sacred honor ! ” 

“ And if you fail you promise to come back here 
for trial before Mad Anthony’s court ? ” 

“ I promise ! ” cried the young Englishman, holding 
up his hand in the most solemn manner. “ It is the 
oath of a true Briton, one who has enlisted in the 
cause of his king. Ah ! sir, you will find som 
honor among us if you but look for it. We are not 
all tyrants and oppressors, but in our army there is a 
sprinkling of honor and fair dealing. This is a war 
of a king against his subjects who have rebelled and 


6 4 


The Enemy’s Pledge 


he would bring them back under the shadow of the 
throne.” 

“We will not argue the right or the wrong of the 
war,” said Frank, with a wave of the hand. “ We be* 
lieve differently from you and you could not convince 
me that we have no right to rebel against the power 
of the throne. Were I to consent to your release 
without consulting General Wayne I would perhaps 
be hanged in your place.” 

“ Surely he is not that cruel.” 

“ He is severe and — just,” answered Frank with a 
glow of pride. 

“ Then, sir, I would not advise you to set me free.” 

“ Not to save your own life ? ” 

“ Not to save my life ! ” 

This chivalrous reply went to the depths of Lowry’s 
heart. 

He stepped forward and took young Montressor’s 
hand. 

“ I will take your pledged word ! ” he exclaimed. 
“ I will take the blame and the risk. Captain Mon- 


tressor, you are free ! ” 


The Enemy’s Pledge 


65 


“ Free ? ” 

The word fell from the young soldier's tongue like 
a cry of delight. 

“ Remember that you place yourself in my shoes," 
he said, looking at Frank. 

“ I understand it well.” 

“ And I will keep my word. If at the end of forty- 
eight hours the prisoner and spy, Tom Hapgood, is 
not at liberty, I will present myself here for punish- 
ment as a British spy." 

" It is well. Remember the compact ! ” 

The guard who had heard this conversation looked 
at Captain Lowry, but said nothing. 

“ Your escape from the camp will not be difficult," 
pursued Frank. “ Once beyond our lines and you 
will be safe. But promise me that the paper found on 
your person is the only one of the kind." 

“ Upon the honor of a Seavoy ! " was the reply. 
“ I have nothing compromising on my person now." 

“ That will do. I take you at your word, Captain 
Montressor." 

“ And I will never forget your kindness." 


66 


The Enemy's Pledge 


Frank again pressed the young soldier’s hand and 
withdrew, first nodding to the guard who gave him a 
look in reply. 

Ten minutes later when Captain Lowry came back 
the guard was not to be seen. 

He knew that Montressor was gone and secretly 
wished him a safe journey back to the British lines. 

As for himself Frank knew that he had committed 
a serious breach of military law. 

He had aided in the escape of a person arrested 
within the lines as a spy and should Mad Anthony 
hear of it his own arrest would follow. 

He was about to enter his own tent when he heard 
footsteps behind him and one of Wayne’s aids con- 
fronted him as he turned. 

“ Captain Lowry ? ” 

“ Yes, sir.” 

“ The general wants you immediately.” 

A thrill went through every fibre of the young 
patriot’s frame. 

" If Mad Anthony has heard of the arrest and 
escape I am in for it,” he said to himself. 


The Enemy’s Pledge 


67 


What he feared had happened as he suspected from 
the countenance that met his gaze as he passed into 
Mad Anthony’s tent. 

General Wayne looked searchingly into the face of 
the young captain for a moment and his countenance 
was severe. 

“ Captain Lowry, you will conduct to me at once 
the young man recently caught within our lines — the 
person who styles himself John Martin.” 

Frank was silent for a moment. 

“ The suspect is not in the camp just now.” 

Wayne looked surprised and his face darkened. 

“ But he was under guard, I am told.” 

“ He was under guard. But I gave him his liberty/' 

“You?” was the retort. “What authority had 
you to release a suspect without trial ? 

“ I did it for the purpose of saving Tom Hapgood’s 
life.” 

“ I cannot see how the release of a spy — for he was 
doubtless one — can effect the salvation of our young 
friend arrested in the enemy's camp.” 

Thereupon, putting a bold face on the matter, 


68 


The Enemy’s Pledge 


Frank related the story of the release of Captain 
Montressor to which Mad Anthony listened without 
comment. 

“ Very well," bluffly said Wayne at the close. “ If 
at the end of forty-eight hours we do not see Tom 
Hapgood or Captain Montressor in this camp I shall 
hold you responsible.” 


CHAPTER VI 


WITHIN THE SHADOW 

Meantime matters did look dark for the young 
Long Islander cooped up in a little room in the 
Quaker City. 

He had entered the place at the request of General 
Wayne for the purpose of obtaining certain informa- 
tion deemed important by that officer and had fallen 
into the hands of the British through a man who 
had known him on his native island. 

Tom had served the colonies well, fighting in the 
ranks of the Boys of Liberty commanded, as we 
know, by Captain Benjamin Pierce, and he had on 
several occasions come under the eye of Washington 
and been complimented for his bravery. 

His father had been hanged by the British and this 
had brought forth all the revenge in his nature and he 
had taken an oath that he would never spare the life 
of a redcoat. 

This fact which was now in the enemy’s possession 


7 o 


Within the Shadow 


rendered the situation darker than ever for the young 
fellow and he could not see a ray of light ahead. 

Leaning against the wall at about the same hour 
that witnessed the interview between the two young 
captains in the American camp, Tom Hapgood gave 
way for a moment to his emotions. 

He did not regret the step he had taken — not he — 
for it was for liberty’s sake ; he was ready at all times 
to die for his belief, but he did not like to perish on 
the scaffold with the stigma attached to a death of 
that nature upon him. 

He thought of his childhood days while he looked 
at his meagre surroundings which kept out the sun- 
shine, and whenever he heard the roll of drums, as he 
did at frequent intervals, he started and yearned anew 
for freedom. 

True no compromising papers had been found on 
his person, but he knew that their absence would not 
save him. 

The British wanted a victim and he would become 
the one. 

He had been questioned several times by cunning 


Within the Shadow 


7 1 


men and they had prejudged him, so that he felt that 
all that was to be done in his case was to march him 
out between a file of soldiers and put him to death. 

Suddenly his musings were disturbed by footsteps 
in the corridor beyond the door and he listened 
again. 

He heard the key turn in the lock — a great, old- 
fashioned thing — and the heavy oaken portal swung 
slowly open. 

Tom leaned forward, for the light was poor, and 
saw before him a tall man with a darkly flowing 
beard. 

This man came forward until he could see the 
prisoner when he stopped. 

“ So you’re here yet, my bird ? " queried this per- 
sonage with a grin of delight. 

" How can I get out with these on my legs ? " and 
Tom threw one foot forward to show his visitor the 
ball and chain by which he was secured. 

“ They’re not conducive to freedom, I’ll admit that," 
said the man. 

“ You’re very kind, I’m sure." 


7 2 


Within the Shadow 


“ They must think you’re an important prisoner ? ” 

“ Perhaps I am. And not satisfied with the chain, 
they mount a guard over me. You must have seen 
the guard as you came in.” 

“ I did, sir. You know the penalty, young sir ? ” 

“ The penalty for what ? You mystify me.” 

Thereupon the man leaned against the wall and 
broke into a little laugh. 

“ You’re an innocent chicken,” he said, looking at 
Tom. “ They've got you dead to rights and you don’t 
suppose that my Lord Cornwallis intends to open the 
door and let you out ? ” 

“ I don’t see why I am held, if that is what you 
want to hear,” replied Tom with courage. “ They 
picked me up and on the word of a fellow who declares 
that he once knew me somewhere on Long Island, 
where there are plenty of young chaps like me. Your 
Lords Cornwallis and Howe seem eager to listen to 
any kind of story and that is why I'm cooped up 
here.” 

“To have your neck wrung like the game cock you 


are. 


Within the Shadow 


73 


“ I shall not be surprised at anything they do with 
me." 

“ But you don’t deny that your name is Tom Hap- 
good, nor that some of our people hanged your father 
for a rebel over on Long Island.” 

At this fire flashed up in Tom’s eyes and his hands 
clinched in spite of himself. 

“ Who told you all this, sir ? ” he demanded. “ The 
fellow who got me into this ? ” 

“ Perhaps and perhaps not. Say, didn’t we hang 
your father ? ” 

This was more than Tom could stand and he threw 
himself forward, dragging his chains as he exclaimed : 

" You boast of that infamous deed, do you ? Per- 
haps you were one of the band that orphaned me.” 

The man shrank back from the fury of the young 
patriot’s eyes and stood at a goodly distance looking 
into his face. 

“ Well, I thought I would get the truth from your 
own lips,” was the remark, as the man smiled. “ They 
said I couldn’t do it, but I told them I would. I've 
won my twenty shillings.” 


74 


Within the Shadow 


“ And if I were free you would never enjoy them ! " 
roared Tom. “ You would never get to spend one of 
them at the tap-rooms of this city." 

“ Thanks, my young tiger. They intend to attend 
to your case in the morning. It’s a pity to hang a 
young fellow like you, but they don’t want to be 
bothered with such. They say you came direct from 
the rebel camp where you belong to Mad Anthony’s 
Legion " 

“ I’d sooner be Mad Anthony’s hostler than a 
major-general in the service of King George." 

u By heavens ! you’re plucky, but just wait, my 
young fellow. When the rope tightens round your 
neck you’ll wish you had never expressed such senti- 
ments." 

“ Never ! " 

“ Well, adieu till then. I have won my bet and 
that was all I wanted. You should have had a little 
more sense, for the moment you entered the city you 
were a marked person." 

The man stepped to the door and laid his hand on 
the knob. 


Within the Shadow 


75 


Looking over his shoulder he eyed Tom from head 
to foot and grinned again. 

“ You don’t hope to escape, do you ? ” 

Tom’s reply was a glance of derision. 

“ You have some friends outside, but they are 
powerless. They can't do anything for you and I 
would advise you to make your peace with the Master 
for it will soon be too late. I say, young man, if you 
would make a full confession it would relieve your own 
mind and give you a better passport to the other 
world.” 

Tom Hapgood with a cry stooped and, snatching up 
the heavy ball which was riveted to the chain, rushed 
upon his tormentor. 

The man backed to the door and threw up his hands 
with a cry of terror. 

“ Don’t touch me ! ” he cried. “ Don’t you strike 
me with that, you young tiger.” 

“ Get out of here then or I'll brain you against the 
door ! ” 

“ Give me time.” 

“ Not a minute of time ! Open the door and go ! ” 


7 6 


Within the Shadow 


The man tried to do so, but his fingers trembled so 
under a paroxysm of fear that Tom had to smile. 

“ Get out or death shall be your portion ! ” con- 
tinued the young patriot. " I might as well take some 
Britisher with me as not.” 

By this time the man had found the door and was 
struggling to open it. 

He accomplished this feat at last, though the time 
seemed hours, and all at once he shot from the place 
and vanished. 

Hapgood heard the door locked on the outside and 
fell back, dropping the iron ball to the floor. 

“ I almost wish I had brained the scoundrel ! ” he 
said to himself. “ He wagered against my identity 
and my life. They have foredoomed me, and if I 
cannot effect my escape But what’s this ? ” 

A bit of paper lay on the floor at his feet and in a 
moment it was in his possession. 

He was sure it had come in with the man, for he 
had looked over the floor while musing in his cell and 
it had not met his gaze. 

His heart thrilled at the thought that a message had 


Within the Shadow 


77 


come from the outside world and in a moment he had 
eagerly opened the folded sheet. 

The writing on the paper was brief, but strange. 
Tom read it again and again. 

At the end of each reading he would look up and 
wonder from whom it could have come, for its message 
was so very strange. 

“ I never saw anything like this,” mused the young 
captive. “ There is no name signed to the message, 
yet it is intended for me. And what does it say? 
Only this : ‘ The river always reaches the sea. And 
the mariner finds the ocean of sunshine and freedom 
through the storms.’ It is a strange message. What 
does it really mean ? Does it mean that I am to be 
saved? And by whom? Not by the man who has 
just gone. It is a mystery, yet it must have been sent 
in to me by that same man. I can only wait,” and 
the young provincial hid the message in his bosom 
and reflected over it until it grew deeper and darker 
and passed his comprehension. 

The day lengthened and Tom, with the words of 
the singular message constantly recurring to him, sat 


7» 


Within the Shadow 


on his low cot in his prison cell and mused more than 
ever. 

He could not solve the mystery. 

Now and then he would start as footsteps sounded 
in the corridor, but the door did not open again. 

He heard the guards changed and then a plate of 
food was slipped into the cell through an opening 
made for that purpose at the bottom of the door. 

Study had rendered him hungry and, as he had 
nothing to do but to eat and sleep, he fell to with 
gusto and devoured the meal, wiping the tin plate 
eagerly with his hands. 

“ Yes/’ said he, “ I know that the sea is sometimes 
reached through the darkest storms that sweep over 
the rivers, but I am not on a ship just now. Who 
sent that strange note and why ? I must have friends 
in the city, but they may not know of my arrest. 
General Wayne could get no message to me and I can 
send him none. I wonder if Frank and Benjamin 
know of my predicament ? If they did they would 
not hesitate to try to get me out of this, but I am 
cooped up beyond the shadow of release save by 


Within the Shadow 


79 


death and that by the rope ! Well, the gallant Hale 
died that way. Why not Tom Hapgood? ” 

The young Long Islander pushed his empty plate 
away and threw himself upon the hard cot against the 
wall. 

There seemed not the slightest ray of hope 
despite the mysterious note and he had almost 
ceased to think of that. After all it might be but 
the trick of some enemy — a trick to fill him with 
hope in order to render his last moments the more 
galling. 

He would dismiss it entirely from his mind; he 
would cease to think of it ; he would look beyond the 

tricks of the enemy and trust to luck or to true friends 

* 

on the outside for help. 

The shadows of the trees in the streets were grow- 
ing long and a cool wind coming up from the Dela- 
ware entered the cell and fanned the hot cheeks of the 
young Long Islander. 

Suddenly he heard footsteps again. 

“ Not for me,” he said to himself as they passed the 
door. “ Some other wretch is to be visited. But, 


8o 


Within the Shadow 


whatever happens, they don’t get me to come over to 
the king. No ! I belong to Mad Anthony and as a 
member of the Legion I will die.” 

Presently the footsteps came back and stopped at 
the door. 

“ Another emissary, I suppose,” thought Tom. 

“ Is this the door ? ” asked a voice outside. 

“ That’s the place where the young spy is.” 

" Open it, then.” 

“ I have no key.” It was the voice of the guard. 
“ You will have to show a passport to the prisoner if 
you ever see him.” 

“ Oho ! that’s the way you’re doing business, is it ? 
Passport from whom, please ? ” 

“ From His Excellency General Lord Howe.” 

“ Is the captive so important as all that ? ” 

“ My Lord Howe thinks so at least.” 

“ Then to him I must go, I reckon. It’s a, pretty 
thing when a gentleman must have a passport to the 
person of a rebel spy.” 

“ It’s my orders, sir.” 

“ To hades with your orders, but I guess I will have 


Within the Shadow 


81 


to measure off a few yards of red tape to get beyond 
that door. Why, I could kick it down ’’ 

“ Better not try it, sir.” 

“ I won't. But I'll get the order. Say, guard, 
when do you think they are going to deal with the 
fellow in there ? ” 

" By daylight, I reckon." 

“ So soon as that ? " 

“ What’s the use in keeping him longer ? Every 
time we feed him he takes a soldier’s ration, and it’s 
beastly slow duty guarding the young scamp." 

“ Oh, he's young, then ? " 

“ Yes, but not too young, they say, to have fought 
us at Brandywine. Young tigers bite hard, you 
know." 

At this the guard laughed and Tom heard foot- 
steps move away. 

“ Another visitor ! ’’ thought he. “ But who the 


dickens can he be ? " 


CHAPTER VII 


Priscilla’s victory 

The British army in and around Philadelphia felt 
itself perfectly secure. 

In consequence of this security Howe feasted and 
carried on in great style while the little army by whom 
he was watched was half starved and illy clothed. 

The British gave balls that were the envy of thou- 
sands and the red-coated officers were the gayest of 
the gay. 

The victory at Brandywine had given the British 
new prestige, and they thought that within a short 
time they would have the pleasure of bagging Wash- 
ington and his whole command. 

The Quaker element in the city, or the greater part 
of it, had remained loyal to the king. During the 
occupation by the Americans it had given Putnam a 
good deal of trouble, and if the bluff old soldier had 
been left to himself he would have ruled these people 
with a rod of iron. 


Priscilla’s Victory 


83 


As it was he treated them with scant courtesy and 
they bided their time hoping that the day was not far 
distant when the tables would be turned. 

That time had now come. 

They could now sit still and see their rebel neigh- 
bors mistreated and in many instances they informed 
on those who had secretly aided the colonies, and 
homes were invaded and their occupants subjected to 
all manner of abuse. 

Among the younger set of British officers in 
the city was one destined to play an important 
part in one of the most tragic dramas of the Revo- 
lution. 

He was a bright, intelligent young officer, of good 
family, cool headed and trustful. Even at that time 
he had risen to high rank and the general officers 
looked upon him as one sure to become noted before 
the war closed. 

This was John Andre, a major in the king’s forces. 
He had come over from England full of high hopes 
and dreamless of the terrible fate that awaited him on 
these shores. 


84 


Priscilla’s Victory 


Handsome, and a great favorite with the fair sex, 
he was always an honored guest at the many social 
functions instituted by the officers of the line, and a 
ball or party without the presence of Major Andre 
was not accounted much. 

It was indeed the young officer who had stepped 
between Mistress Beverley and insult on the occasion 
when she refused to drink to the king. 

The story told Captain Lowry by Montressor in 
Wayne’s camp concerning this much talked-of incident 
w r as substantially true. 

Priscilla had maintained her independence in the 
matter, and but for Cummings, the young officer who 
had brought about the incident for a sinister purpose, 
she would not have been subjected to the criticism that 
followed her act. 

The night after the incident the fair rebel received 
a call from Major Andre. 

The young officer had gotten himself up in the 
latest dress and looked spick and span when he reached 
the door of the young lady’s abode. 

Priscilla, recalling his interference at the party, wel- 


Priscilla’s Victory 


85 


corned him most cordially and he was soon engaged 
in lively conversation with her. 

He again regretted the occurrence which had made 
her name known throughout the city, saying that this 
sort of notoriety was never to his liking, when Priscilla 
hastened to speak : 

“ I regret it as much as you do, Major Andre, 
but, being of the belief which at all times animates 
my bosom, you must admit that I could do nothing 
less.” 

“ That is true, Mistress Beverley. Cummings 
placed you in a close predicament, and there were but 
two ways out of it — either to sacrifice your politics or 
drink to the king.” 

“ To the king of England I could not drink,” an- 
swered Priscilla with some spirit. 

“ Though a British soldier I do not blame you. 
We all have opinions of our own and if we are honest 
in them we should not sell them for a song. You are 
not alone in your refusal to drink to King George, for 
I have just heard of a youth who, after singing a rebel 
song for the delectation of a number of our officers, re- 


86 


Priscilla’s Victory 


fused to honor our monarch by drinking his health. 
You may have heard of the same incident.” 

Priscilla said she had heard something of the inci- 
dent, whereupon Major Andre related the story of Ben 
Markley’s adventure with the tipsy officers, laughing 
heartily over the affair, and saying that he feared, 
from the amount of patriotism abroad, they would 
have a good deal of trouble in reducing the colonists. 

“ This young man Markley,” said Andre, " is sus- 
pected of being a rebel spy right here in the city and 
his act will only serve to strengthen the suspicion. If 
he would only get out of the city before he gets into 
durance he might save himself a good deal of trouble. 
General Howe has issued stringent orders against such 
displays of opposition and they are to be enforced to 
the letter.” 

“ Of course I cannot blame him very much,” re- 
sponded the fair one. “ Our people must annoy him 
a good deal.” 

“ They do. But I have come to mention to you, 
Mistress Beverley, a little matter which may be for 
your benefit.” 


Priscilla's Victory 


87 


Priscilla was silent. 

“ Under the circumstances do you not think it best 
for you to be out of the city ? ” 

“ Do you intimate, Major Andre, that I am to be 
subjected to any indignities if I choose to remain?" 

“ To be frank with you these orders of Lord Howe 
cannot be overlooked. They are to be carried out to 

the letter as I have already said and " 

" Pardon me, but are you not ordered to carry them 
out so far as I am concerned ? " 

A deep flush overspread the young officer’s face 
and he avoided Priscilla’s gaze for a moment. 

“ You have guessed correctly," said he. “ I am 
ordered by General Howe to arrest you within the 
next twenty-four hours if you are then to be found in 
the city." 

“ I thought so." 

“ I assure you in advance that the order is a very 
unpleasant one for me. I dislike it from the bottom of 
my heart, but a true soldier knows nothing but duty. 
We have but to obey, you know ’’ 


“ And I would be the last person to persuade you 


88 


Priscilla’s Victory 


to do anything else,” put in Priscilla gently, yet with 
a degree of firmness. “ I shall not compromise you, 
major.” 

“ I am glad to hear you say this. You mean that 
you will not be in Philadelphia at the end of the 
twenty-four hours ? ” 

“ I cannot quite promise you that, but I will not 
give you the trouble to arrest me.” 

“ I do not quite understand.” 

“ General Howe may change his orders ” 

" The very last thing we are to expect ! ” cried 
Major Andre. 

“ Do you really think so ? ” smiled Mistress 
Beverley. 

“ Why, my dear young lady, General Howe is one 
of the firmest soldiers in the world. He has never 
been known to modify an order and he stands by all 
he issues.” 

“ Then I suppose my banishment will take place ; 
but first let me try my hand on your general.” 

" You can do so with my full consent, but I warn 
you in advance not to attempt to captivate our 


Priscilla’s Victory 


89 


general, though he is somewhat susceptible to the 
charms of beauty.” 

An hour later the interview came to a close and 
soon afterward a carriage was seen to stop in front of 
General Howe’s headquarters. 

The young lady who was assisted from the vehicle 
tripped lightly up the steps and the guard admitted 
her. 

A minute later she stood in the presence of the 
noted British general who commanded in the city. 

General Howe welcomed his fair visitor with smiles 
and led her to a chair when he stepped back and 
awaited her pleasure. 

“ General Howe,” said Priscilla, looking the hand- 
some officer fairly in the eye, “ I understand that your 
order to the effect that all patriots who have openly 
expressed themselves against the king, or who have 
performed acts equally expressive, are to be given 
twenty-four hours in which to leave the city under 
penalty of arrest and trial.” 

“ That is true. We must do something in this 
direction, for you cannot but see that the presence of 


9° 


Priscilla's Victory 


such people within our lines militates against our 
future success." 

“ Perhaps it does, but ” 

“One moment, Mistress You are Mistress 

Beverley, aren’t you ? ” 

Priscilla bowed. 

“ I thought so.” 

General Howe stepped to a desk in one corner of 
the room and took from it a folded paper which he 
slowly opened. 

“ This is my general order,” said he, coming back 
to where Priscilla sat. “ You may have read it?” 

“ I have not, but I have been informed of its con- 
tents,” was the reply. 

“ Then it is not necessary for me to read it to you. 
Here also is a list of suspects and among them I find 
your name, my dear Mistress Beverley.” 

“ My name, General Howe ! ” archly exclaimed the 
fair rebel. “ Of what am I suspected, pray ? ” 

Howe looked down and stammered. 

It was a pointed question and admitted of no 
equivocation. 


Priscilla’s Victory 


9 1 


“ I — I — understand,” he blurted, “ that you recently 
refused to drink the king’s health.” 

“ That is true.” 

“ You are very frank in admitting the charge.” 

" I always admit the truth, General Howe.” 

“ Which is not what many do,” smiled the British 
general. 

" General Howe, would you drink the health of 
General Washington ? ” asked Priscilla suddenly. 

“ I — I — really that is not a fair question, my dear 
young lady,” replied Howe. “ I don’t think I will 
ever be placed in circumstances where I shall have to 
choose.” 

“ We do not know what may happen for we cannot 
pierce the veil of the future. I understand that I was 
placed in a certain dilemma by one of your officers 
out of a little pique which does not give him a very 
good reputation as an officer and a gentleman.” 

General Howe started and looked at the fair girl. 

“ Why, what is this ? A conspiracy, and against 
one so fair as yourself ? ” 

“ It seems so. Lieutenant Cummings of your army 


9 2 


Priscilla’s Victory 


has upon several occasions intruded his society upon 
me and, not receiving the encouragement he wished, 
he planned the episode at the party for a little 
revenge.'* 

“ This is, indeed, quite a serious charge against one 
of my favorite officers.” 

“ You have forced me to make it by the issue 
of your order.” 

“ Then you mean to tell me that you are not the 
rebel you are suspected of being — that ” 

“ I mean to make no such statement, General 
Howe,” broke in Priscilla. “ I am from Boston, as 
is well known. For the present I am living in 
Philadelphia and my true sentiments were displayed 
on the occasion we are now discussing.” 

“ Then you are rebel for certain ? ” 

“ I am for the cause represented by Washington. 
But I have been to a degree the victim of circum- 
stances. The little plot of Lieutenant Cummings 
succeeded admirably, since I was forced to show my 
colors at the party where I refused to drink the king’s 
health.” 


Priscilla’s Victory 


93 


“ Surely we do not ask one to uproot in a moment 
from his or her heart sentiments which have been 
long forming, but we cannot afford to deal too 
leniently with our enemies in this city.” 

“ I shall not ask you to,” exclaimed Priscilla. 
“You are at liberty to carry out your orders. I 
have not called to ask you to modify them. Such 
is far from my intention, but I thought you should be 
correctly informed of the circumstances that brought 
about the predicament in which I was placed — the 
plot of Lieutenant Cummings of your army.” 

As she spoke the fair rebel rose gracefully and 
went to the door. But General Howe reached it 
slightly in advance of her and laid his hand upon the 
knob. 

“ I will see to this,” he said, looking down into her 
flushed face. “ You certainly have the courage of 
your convictions. I am sorry to see one so fair on 
the side of the American rebels.” 

“ And I, General Howe, am equally sorry to see an 
officer so intelligent as yourself in favor of crushing 
out liberty in this country. But I forget that a sol- 


94 


Priscilla's Victory 


dier must know nothing but blind obedience. Your 
sword belongs to your king, no matter what your real 
sentiments may be.” 

“ You would convert a British soldier if you were 
with him very long,” laughed General Howe. “ I will 

not forget you, Mistress Beverley, and I take pleasure 

/ / 

in saying that the way to my headquarters is always 
open to you.” 

Priscilla courtesied at the door which General Howe 
gallantly held open for her and the next moment her 
heels were tapping the ground between the house and 
her carriage. 

As she settled back among the leather cushions of 
the vehicle a smile overspread her face. 

What of her diplomatic mission ? Had she suc- 
ceeded in it ? 

“ I must not quit the city yet,” she said to herself. 
“ I have much to do here. General Washington must 
have a friend inside and, as one of our friends is in the 
shadow of the noose just now, we must play our cards 
to advantage.” 

The carriage rattled away. 


Priscilla’s Victory 


95 


An hour later a British soldier presented himself at 
the door of Mistress Beverley’s domicile. 

In one hand he extended a sealed envelope to the 
young lady who answered the knocker and, doffing 
his hat, he withdrew. 

Priscilla hastened to the parlor where she broke the 
seal of the envelope. 

Her eyes flashed up with genuine triumph when 
she had read the brief writing which her action had 
disclosed. 

“ It wasn’t a visit thrown away after all ! ” she said 
half aloud. 

Indeed it was not, for she held in her hand a brief 
order from General Howe exempting her from the 
operations of his order of arrest and banishment 
from Philadelphia of all suspected rebels. 

No wonder the fair girl could smile to herself. 


CHAPTER VIII 


DANGER 

On the night succeeding Captain Montressor’s 
release from General Wayne’s camp a youthful look- 
ing person turned the corner of a certain street in 
Philadelphia and narrowly missed running into the 
arms of a British guard. 

He was nimble of foot, was this person who had his 
eyes about him and who evidently knew where he 
was going. 

He had proceeded but a short distance from the 
corner when he ran up an alley and climbed a fence 
which permitted him to drop into a garden. 

Through this he made his way to a house darkly 
outlined against the sky and was soon inside. 

The interior of the place was rather dark like the 
night outside, but the youthful adventurer soon struck 
a light with his tinder box and advanced with a pine 
splinter for a candle. 

He found a staircase which he mounted and at last 


Danger 


97 


reached a moderate sized room on the second floor 
where he extinguished his light. 

“ So far so good,” he said aloud. “ I've got so far 
on the road, and now if they don’t fail me ” 

He paused, for sounds of footsteps reached his ears 
and he placed one hand upon the butt of a weapon 
which he carried underneath his doublet. 

The door opened and he felt the unseen presence of 
some one. 

He did not stir, but kept his hand on the pistol, 
while he seemed to hold his breath. 

At last another sound reached his ears, for some one 
moved in the apartment and he craned his neck a lit- 
tle as if trying to pierce the gloom ahead. 

“ No one here,” said a voice. 

The first comer drew back against the wall for he 
was very close to the speaker. 

“ I am here,” he said scarcely above a whisper. 

There was the sound of a quick start on the part of 
the unseen one and the pistol was drawn forth and 
held in front of the first comer’s face. 

He was ready for whatever might happen and in 


9 8 


Danger 


that house he evidently believed that anything might 
transpire. 

" You are here ? ” said a voice in answer to his last 
words. “ Let me know for certain.” 

“ Brandywine ! ” 

There was a low, light chuckle. 

“ That is it ! Where are you ? ” 

“ Here ! ” 

Two hands met in the darkness and remained 
clasped for a spell. 

“ How long have you been here ? ” 

“ But a few moments.” 

“ You ran the gantlet safely, did you ?” 

“ My presence here answers that question.” 

“ To be sure it does, and I’m glad of it. But this 
way. There is another room where we can have a 
little light on the subject.” 

“ That will be better. You know the way.” 

The person who had come in last led the way 
from the room and the two glided down a musty cor- 
ridor. 

In a few moments a door swung open in the dark- 


Danger 


99 


ness, a threshold was crossed and a little flame leaped 
over some tow igniting a candle. 

“ Ben ! ” exclaimed one of the two. 

“ Frank ! ” answered the other. 

They had met in the heart of Philadelphia, Ben 
Markley and Captain Lowry — Ben, the youth who 
had flouted the ballad of “ Mad Anthony Wayne ” 
into the faces of the red-coated officers and Frank, the 
favorite young captain belonging to Mad Anthony’s 
Legion, serving with the Boys of Liberty, Captain 
Pierce. 

“We won’t talk long,” said Ben Markley, as he 
stuck the candle into an old-fashioned holder on the 
table. “We want action just now.” 

“ What is the news ? ” 

“ Our friend is in the very shadow of the gallows. 
Tom is in prison and has been condemned.” 

“ They’ve tried him, then ? ” 

“ Oh, it was hardly a trial. He was condemned 
from the moment that rascally recruit from Long 
Island recognized him.” 

“ It was most unfortunate. Howe does not seem to 


100 


Danger 


have any heart in him at all. He has approved of the 
sentence ” 

“ Then Montressor ” 

“ What about Montressor ? ” broke in Ben Markley. 
“ I know something of a Captain Montressor of the 
king’s forces and he is very active in having Tom 
Hapgood swing.” 

“ The scoundrel ! ” cried Frank Lowry. “ Why, I 
liberated that same fellow from captivity at the risk of 
my own life under promise that he would effect our 
friend’s release.” 

“ Which goes to show that these English have very 

little of the stuff we Americans call honor.” 

\ 

Frank said nothing in reply to this. 

He recalled his interview with Captain Lloyd Mon- 
tressor and the young Britisher’s oath still sounded in 
his ears. 

Then the stern words of General Wayne rang in 
his ears as well : 

“ If Tom Hapgood or Montressor is not in my 
camp within forty-eight hours I shall hold you respon- 
sible” 


Danger 


101 


And Mad Anthony would do this. 

“ Fool I was to trust that redcoat ! ” cried Frank at 
last. “ I shall never trust another. But he swore 
upon the honor of his house and the sacred memory 
of his mother ” 

“ He may have intended well,” put in Ben. “ But 
you see Tom is so closely guarded that it seems im- 
possible to get at him. I managed to send him a mys- 
terious message which he may be able to study out by 
himself. That is about all we've been able to do. 
We of the True Hearts of Liberty are doing all for the 
cause we can in the city, but we are hampered by the 
watchfulness of the foe. General Howe is ever on the 
alert and Cornwallis ably seconds him in this respect. 
From what I have heard of this young Captain 
Montressor he is accounted a man of his word 
but one cannot always make his word good, you 
know.” 

“ That is true. But he may have failed to carry out 
his pledge and let us have a better opinion of the 
young heir of Seavoy until we know more.” 

For half an hour the two youths talked in the 


102 


Danger 


flickering light of the candle, and then it was extin- 
guished and they glided from the old place. 

Frank had come to Philadelphia without orders, but 
not without the knowledge of Mad Anthony who 
wanted, above all things, to effect the release of Tom 
Hapgood, his young spy. 

Lowry knew the city fairly well for he had been 
stationed in it during the interval between Trenton 
and the evacuation by the Americans. He was 
capable of making his way to almost any point after 
dark, therefore the journey to the old house in which 
he encountered Ben Markley had not been attended 
with incident. 

The youths made their way half-way across the city 
and brought up in front of a large residence. 

“ That’s the place,” said Ben. “ Now I will leave 
you.” 

Ben darted away leaving Frank in front of the house 
and in a few moments the young provincial mounted 
the broad steps. 

A light was visible beyond the shutters on one 
side of the ample front and in response to his 


Danger 


103 


ring the door opened and a servant made her ap- 
pearance. 

She started back at sight of the young patriot who 
was attired in citizen’s clothes, and looked searchingly 
into his face. 

Frank mentioned the name of Mistress Beverley 
whom he said he wished to see. 

“ She is not in, sir,” haughtily replied the maid. 

“ She is out at this hour ? ” 

“ As you please, sir. Mistress Beverley is not a 
person to have her comings and goings questioned.” 

Frank bit his lips under this reproof. 

“ Can you tell me when she will return ? ” 

“ That I cannot as she never lets me know.” 

“ If you will permit I will step inside and wait 
a while for Mistress Beverley.” 

“ That, sir, I cannot consent to as some one is wait- 
ing for her in the parlor.” 

Just then a voice pitched in a feminine key called 
out : 

“ Who has called to see Mistress Priscilla, pray, 


Ruth ? ” 


104 


Danger 


“ That I cannot tell you as lie has not given his 
name." 

In another moment there were sounds of footsteps 
in the hallway and Frank saw an elegantly dressed 
young lady behind the maid. 

“ Mistress Beverley is not at home as the maid has 
informed you,” said this person, as she advanced 
toward the door. " So if you wish to see her at once 
you will be disappointed. However, I am expecting 
her home at any moment.” 

“ She left orders, Miss, not to let strange people in 
during her absence,” pouted the maid who evidently 
did not have the best opinion of Captain Lowry. 

“ I will take the responsibility,” was the reply. 
“ If the gentleman will step this way he may wait 
a while for Mistress Beverley.” 

As this was just what the young provincial wanted 
he was not slow to accept the invitation and in 
another second he found himself in the parlor facing 
the fair young woman who had interceded in his 
behalf. 

“ You are Mistress Ferguson, are you not ? ” asked 


Danger 


105 


Frank, as he studied for a moment the face before 
him. 

“ I am Mistress Bess Ferguson,” was the reply. “ I 
dropped in a few moments ago to see Mistress 
Beverley on a mission of some importance, but, as she 
was out, I concluded to sit a while for her. ” 

Frank looked again at the old Quaker-Tory’s 
niece and admitted to himself that hers was an en- 
chanting style of beauty. 

In person Mistress Bess was inclined to good 
stature and her rich auburn locks falling over her 
ample shoulders added to her attractiveness. More- 
over her eyes were large and sparkling and Frank 
could not but notice the geniality that cropped out 
in her countenance. She had the reputation of being 
one of the younger belles of the Quaker City and 
rumor gave her lovers by the score. 

Frank had already heard that her hand was sought 
in marriage by General Huston of the king’s army, 
and while he looked into the handsome face before 
him he felt that the young officer would gain a prize 
when he led Mistress Bess to the altar. 


Danger 


106 

As yet he had not proclaimed his identity to the 
fair Quaker maid, but he fancied that, as she was 
Priscilla’s friend and confidante, she might easily 
guess it. 

“ Would you like a little music?” asked the young 
lady, suddenly rising and sweeping in her rich skirts 
across the room. 

“ If you please,” answered Frank, for Mistress Bess 
had already seated herself at the harpsichord and her 
light fingers were strumming the ivory keys. 

“What shall it be?” she asked with a toss of the 
head as she looked over her shoulder at the young 
patriot. 

“ Whatever you wish to play. I shall be satisfied,” 
and Frank fell to gazing at the speaker. 

For a moment Mistress Ferguson continued to 
dally with the keys, then she broke into the musical 
score of a ballad just then popular among the Ameri- 
cans and a favorite in all their camps — “ Washington’s 
March to Trenton.” 

Captain Frank started at the first note for it was the 
last thing he had expected to hear in Philadelphia. 


Danger 


107 


He could scarcely believe his ears as the music 
swept on and on, now rising and now sinking as the 
fair player described the battle of Trenton. Frank 
Lowry sat entranced and speechless. 

The last stanza was reached at last, the last note 
floated through his brain to die away as it were 
among the ice-locked streams of Jersey, for she had 
carried him back to the crossing of the Delaware, the 
charge through the streets of Trenton and the final 
rout of the Hessians. 

With fire in her fine eyes Mistress Bess turned 
triumphantly upon the single spectator. 

Her look said plainly : “ Well, how did you 
like it?” 

“ You must have taken me for a rebel,” smiled Cap- 
tain Lowry, pretending surprise, not to say chagrin. 

A smile broadened on the face before him. 

“ And, pray, who would come to see Mistress 
Beverley at this hour but a rebel?” she exclaimed. 
“ You said you would be satisfied with anything I 
might play and I judged that what you have just 
heard would not prove an insult.” 


io8 


Danger 


“ Then you ” 

" Come, let us know one another better,” cried 
Mistress Bess, crossing the room. “ You have come 
into the city from without to see Mistress Priscilla and 
since you have guessed my name so well let me say 
that you are Captain Lowry, of Wayne's Legion.” 

Frank started at hearing his name and rank spoken 
so boldly in that place. 

“ And what if you should be correct ? ” he said. 
“ If I am the person you have named I must be in 
the presence of a friend.” 

" You are nowhere else. Because I inhabit the 
home of the greatest Tory in Philadelphia, it is no 
sign that I bow at the feet of the tyrant king.” 

Bess Ferguson spoke with open animation. 

Her eyes glowed as she did so and Frank, advanc- 
ing to the instrument, grasped her hand. 

“ Allow me to congratulate you on the song,” he 
exclaimed. “ And to wish success to our cause in 
North America.” 

“ Our cause ? ” she exclaimed. “ Why, sir, don't 


you know that I am a Ferguson ? ” 


Danger 


109 

“ A Ferguson indeed, but all Fergusons are not for 
the king.” 

She laughed and for a moment turned to the 
harpsichord, slipping her fingers along the keys, but 
she suddenly stopped : 

“ Mistress Priscilla has arrived. I hear the wheels 
of the carriage in the street.” 

“ Thank fortune ! ” 

There came a quick ring in the hall and the maid 
tripped to the door. 

In another moment Mistress Bess Ferguson seized 
Frank’s arm and pulled him backward. 

** It is not Priscilla ! ” she cried. “ I recognize the 
voice at the door. It is the voice of Major John 
Andre of the British army ! ” 

The young soldier of Mad Anthony’s Legion 
seemed to become a statue in marble in the middle 
of the room. 


CHAPTER IX 


IN THE ENEMY'S CAMP 

While he had a good opinion of the tact and 
courage of Mistress Ferguson Frank did not care 
to encounter Major Andre even in her presence. 

The girl might be shrewd enough, but he had come 
to the city upon a dangerous errand which was no less 
than a self-imposed expedition for the release of Tom 
Hapgood, and this British major might spoil the 
whole thing. 

Therefore, when he was told by Mistress Bess that the 
man at the door was Andre and not Priscilla, he invol- 
untarily shrank back. He wanted to meet no one but 
the person whom he had come to see, Priscilla herself. 

In a moment, after waving Frank toward the door 
of another apartment, Bess Ferguson ran into the hall 
and called to the maid : 

“ Say to the gentleman that Mistress Beverley is 
not in." 

“Not in at this hour?" exclaimed the person at 


In the Enemy’s Camp 


ill 


the portal. “ I did not know she was in the habit of 
making such late calls.” 

“ She did not inform me as to her return/’ the maid 
said. “ I cannot, therefore, tell you when you may 
have the pleasure of seeing her.” 

“ But the lady who just spoke ? Was it not her 
friend, Mistress Ferguson ? ” 

“ Really, sir ” 

“ Come, girl,” cried the soldier. “ You have been 
trained very well, no doubt, but I have certainly 
recognized the voice in the parlor.” 

“ I am Mistress Ferguson,” was the retort, and Bess 
stepped into the hall. “ Ah, it is Major Andre, I 
see ! What is it, major ? ” 

The handsome young officer, taken a little aback 
by the sudden appearance of Mistress Bess, did not 
reply for a moment, but his presence confirmed her 
pretended discovery. 

“ I have called to see Mistress Beverley,” he said, 
coming to his own rescue. “ I was passing and, see- 
ing a light in the house, I thought I would not be 
overstepping the rules of decorum ” 


112 


In the Enemy’s Camp 


“ Certainly not if Mistress Beverley happened to be 
at home. I am waiting for her myself.” 

Standing in a room adjoining the parlor, Captain 
Lowry heard all this. 

He had heard before of this Major Andre over 
whose head was impending a terrible fate ; he had 
formed a good opinion of his generosity and chivalry, 
and he felt like thanking him for coming to Priscilla’s 
rescue when she refused to drink to the king. 

But he thought that the hour had not arrived for 
such action, therefore he remained where he was, con- 
tent to entrust all diplomacy to Mistress Bess. 

“ Is it very important, Major Andre ? ” asked the 
young girl. 

“ Somewhat,” was the answer. “ She has been 
taken off General Howe’s list of suspects ” 

“ A fact with which she is already familiar.” 

“ Then I am a poor news bearer,” smiled Andre. 
“ That is all, I believe. But hold ! Mistress Ferguson. 
What is this I hear of your change of heart, if not of 
name ? ” 

Bess flushed to the temples. 


In the Enemy’s Camp 113 

“ My change of name, sir ? ” she cried. “ Is it 
abroad so soon ? ” 

“ Indeed, it is the talk of the city.” 

“ Then I am one of the favored ones, I suppose. 
Really, Major Andre ” (Bess knew him very well), “ I 
think I am to be congratulated, don’t you ? ” 

“ That is true and I extend my well wishes. Gen- 
eral Huston is a good soldier, but 'tis said you named 
a day that may in the course of events be far away, 
though we hope not.” 

“ Far away, indeed ? ” cried Bess. " I simply prom- 
ised to become his bride when King George pro- 
claimed the colonies free and independent.” 

“ Were you in earnest, Mistress Bess ? ” 

" Never more so in all my life, I assure you.” 

“ And the general ? What did he say ? ” 

“ What could he say ? It takes two to make a bar- 
gain, you know, and as I am the person most inter- 
ested, I named my part of it.” 

“ Do you really think, Mistress Bess, that we shall 
ever be humiliated by reading a proclamation of that 
sort ? ” 


U4 


In the Enemy’s Camp 


“ You surely will unless you make better headway 
against the rebels than you have of late.” 

“ I fancy we have done fairly well. We have pos- 
session of their congress city : we are snugly situated 
in Philadelphia and we have just chastised them on 
the Brandywine.” 

“ All of which in your mind no doubt compensates 
for Trenton and Princeton ? ” 

Major John Andre winced at this. 

" Those were surprises,” he said. “ We were not 
prepared for the rebel Washington. Who would have 
thought that a man would attempt to cross a half- 
frozen river with a lot of half-clad and half-starved 
men and falling upon our posts ? ” 

“ General Washington ! ” 

“ A rebel’s idea ! It was that or final capture. 
These successes are but temporary. They cannot be 
of much benefit to the rebel cause, and the day of 
surprises is over. But as Mistress Beverley is not here 
I shall move on.” 

" Thank fortune,” thought Frank in his prison. 
“ He is going and I shall be rid of him.” 


In the Enemy’s Camp 


^5 


He heard Major Andre bid Mistress Ferguson good- 
night and soon after the door had closed she came 
into the room. 

“ I've gotten rid of my caller/' she laughed as she 
closed the inner portal. “ I have a strong feeling of 
respect for Major Andre. He is not. like the usual 
run of British officers, for the chivalry he brought from 
England he retains under all circumstances. There is 
a great future ahead for that brilliant foe if others will 
let him alone. You did not know, perhaps, that he is 
a poet as well as a soldier ? ” 

“ I did not," said Frank. 

“ He has written some extremely fine things in 
verse. He always delights to write in our verse- 
books, and it is quite a fad here now among young 
ladies to have him dedicate their albums." 

“ I can respect an enemy like that." 

“ We all like him. This war would be stripped of 
much of its brutality if Major Andre had the directing 
of affairs.” 

Captain Lowry sought to shift the subject to an- 
other peg to which Mistress Bess consented, and they 


In the Enemy’s Camp 


1 16 


were discussing British rule in the city when carriage 
wheels again reached their ears and with a cry of 
“ Priscilla at last ! ” Bess sprang up and bounded into 
the hall. 

Sure enough this time Captain Lowry heard the 
voice of another young lady in the hall and in a mo- 
ment he stood before her. 

“ Welcome to Philadelphia, Captain Lowry ! ” cried 
Priscilla, extending her hand. “ I am pleased to see 
you, but, truth to tell, I wish time and place were dif- 
ferent.” 

“ We must take such things as they come,” replied 
Frank. “ I have but just reached the city and, while I 
am not here on a spy’s mission, it might not go well 
with me were I to be discovered by the enemy.” 

“ That it would not. I have just returned from the 
lower town. I find things there in a turmoil,” and 
Priscilla looked at Bess. “We have friends there who 
are in trouble.” 

“ In trouble, Priscilla ? ” cried Mistress Ferguson. 
“ In what way, pray ? ” 

“ They have ferreted out the True Hearts.” 


In the Enemy’s Camp 


117 


“ It cannot be ! ” 

“ It seems that the Order has been betrayed by 
some one. I was told by a young officer of the 
Royal Greens that several of our friends are now un- 
der arrest and that they hope to get the remainder by 
morning.” 

“ And is that what detained you ? ” 

“ In a measure, yes. I was solicitous, you know, 
and, by stopping where I might pick up a little addi- 
tional news, I happened to delay my home-coming.” 

“ Betrayed ? All to be taken before morning ? ” 
Bess was heard to ejaculate scarcely above her breath. 
“ It is bad enough, but it might be worse.” 

“ I don’t see how,” said Priscilla. 

“ We might be arrested, too.” 

“ Indeed that might put a soberer face upon affairs ; 
but let us consider that it is decidedly bad enough. 
Ejut, Captain Lowry, what is your mission to Philadel- 
phia ? ” 

“ I am here on account of a red-coated prisoner 
breaking his pledged word.” 

“ Who did that?” 


1 18 


In the Enemy’s Camp 


“ Captain Lloyd Montressor.” 

“ I have met him/’ said Priscilla. “ He seemed to 
me the beau ideal of a British gentleman and the last 
man whom I would accuse of such a thing as that.” 

“ We had him prisoner in our camp. He promised 
to effect the release of Tom Hapgood of the Legion if 
we let him go, and I took upon myself the responsi- 
bility and he was set free. Now I will be held 
severely responsible should neither he nor Tom Hap- 
good appear in Wayne’s camp within a given time.” 

“ And the penalty ? ” 

“ That lies with Mad Anthony,” was the reply. 
“ He did not take kindly to my foolish assumption of 
authority, and I must expect the worst should my 
plans fail.” 

“ If it lies with Captain Montressor there is hope 
yet,” Bess exclaimed. “ He prides himself upon his 
blue-blooded ancestry and I have heard him say that 
one drop of Montressor blood is worth a river of royal 
gore.” 

“ I doubt not he is chivalrous, but remember he 
made his promise to a rebel.” 


I 


In the Enemy’s Camp 1 1 9 

“ That will cut no figure as against his honor," was 
the rejoinder. “ Captain Montressor is true to his 
pledge and I am sure something has happened to de- 
feat his plans." 

“ Let us hope that he will yet carry them out," said 
Frank. “ Mistress Priscilla, I thank you in the name 
of General Wayne for the information recently sent in, 
through Master Bowers." 

“ I know no Master Bowers," cried Priscilla with a 
hurried glance at Bess. “ I never entrusted anything 
to a man of that name." 

“ At least he called himself such." 

" It is news to me," the fair rebel replied. “ So 
General Wayne received a message purporting to 

come from me through one Master Bowers. It is a 

♦ 

mystery." 

“ Very well; we will let it remain one. Now what 
is to be done in Tom's case?" 

“ What can be done? " exclaimed Priscilla. “ With 
our friends of the True Hearts suspected and some of 
them already under arrest, the chances for saving him 
look very dark." 


120 


In the Enemy’s Camp 


“ They seem to form a cloud without a silver lin- 
ing.” 

“ But we need not despair," put in Mistress Fergu- 
son. “ My father’s brother, while he is for the king, 
sometimes strangely leans toward the provincials." 

“ But we cannot hope for anything from that 
source, Bess." 

“ I do not know. I shall hold an interview with 
him, for you know he is intimate with General Howe 
and quite familiar with my Lord Cornwallis and he 
can, if he will, put in a word for the prisoner." 

“ If our hopes depend on Thomas Ferguson helping 
us we might as well prepare for the worst," Frank 
said with some bitterness. “ We know of your uncle, 
Mistress Bess." 

" And he is probably as black as he has been 
painted," added that young lady without taking 
offense. “You see that as I am to become the wife 
of General Huston " 

“ Why not get him interested in Master Hap- 
good ? " 

“ What! interest General Huston in a rebel who is 


In the Enemy’s Camp 


121 


under sentence of death ? He would as soon be 
expected to spare a serpent that coiled round his 
leg. My future lord and master is not at all tender- 
hearted ; but he has a few commendable traits, among 
which is the one of implicit obedience to his king. 
However, I might try, but I imagine the first thing 
he would ask of me for any favor from him would 
be another date for our marriage/' 

“ But you’ve settled that, Bess ! ” cried Priscilla. 

“ So I have, and he doesn’t fancy the settlement,” 
laughed the Quaker-Tory's niece. 

The hour had now waxed so late that Frank 
resolved to leave, saying that he hoped to run across 
Captain Montressor when he would remind him of his 
promise, and the two young ladies reluctantly bade 
him good-night. 

The young patriot once more found himself upon 
the streets of Philadelphia. 

The winds of the autumn night, blowing up from 
the river, fanned his cheeks. 

He was in the stronghold of the enemy. 

The sentries called out the hour as he passed along, 


122 


In the Enemy’s Camp 


adding that all was well when the shadow of battle 
hovered over everything. 

Frank felt hungry as his journey had sharpened his 
appetite and he stopped at a small establishment 
whose door opened upon the sidewalk. 

Refreshments were being served to several British 
officers of inferior rank and Frank, feeling that he 
could appease his appetite without danger of detec- 
tion, entered and took a seat at one of the tables. 

As the waiter approached him he heard a voice 
behind him and glancing over his shoulder he saw 
that the speaker was the very man he wanted to see — 
Captain Montressor, his late prisoner. 

But he knew better than to let himself be recog- 
nized there, for, as yet, his identity had not been 
discovered. 


CHAPTER X 


THE COUNCIL OF WAR 

Leaving the city in the hands of the enemy for a 
time let us repair to the camp of the American army. 

Washington, whose vigilance had been sleepless, 
was planning to show the British that the lion was 
not asleep. 

In a little room some miles from the outskirts of 
Philadelphia stood the commander-in-chief looking 
down upon a roughly drawn military map on the 
table. 

He was quite alone, but not for long. 

He might have heard the guard’s challenge and the 
reply, for the door opened and a young officer stood 
saluting in the doorway. 

“ Welcome, Captain Pierce,” cried Washington, as 
he looked up and returned the salute. “ How are the 
Boys of Liberty ? ” 

“ Eager and ready to meet the enemy again,” was 
the prompt reply. 


124 


The Council of War 


“ Ah ! I knew that without the asking. I wanted 
to show you some lines on this map. Come nearer, 
captain.” 

Benjamin drew nearer, feeling as he always did, a 
certain awe when in the presence of Washington. 

The finger of the great man moved slowly over the 
map on the table and Benjamin followed it closely. 

“ You are familiar with the ground, I am told,” 
pursued Washington. " You see this line here ? Is 
it correct in its windings ? ” 

The captain of the Boys of Liberty leaned over 
the map and inspected it closely for a few seconds. 

" It should curve here,” he said, indicating with 
his finger. “ It should pass a little to the left of 
the Chew House, while I see that it hits the house 
exactly.” 

“ I notice,” answered Washington. 

“ It runs in this direction for a mile or more — an 
old road, you know, Your Excellency, and here it 
terminates at the foot of the hills. It is a good road 
and one easily followed.” 

“ Now we will look at this line,” and Washington 


The Council of War 


12 S 


turned the map half-way round. “ The arrows point 
rather northeastward. Is that correct, sir? ” 

“ Substantially so. They seem to point in direc- 
tion of the forks in the Old Line Road.” 

“That is true. What should be here where my 
finger is ? The person who drew this map seemed 
undecided.” 

Benjamin bent over the great hand of Washington 
and looked at the map again. 

“ Lutan’s Mill should be there,” he said. 

“ That is the place lacking,” smiled the chief. 
“ Do you consider this a faithful map, Captain 
Pierce ? ” 

“ It is well drawn with the exceptions I have 
pointed out.” 

“ And you would rely upon it in case of need ? ” 

“ I know of no better map, Your Excellency.” 

“ What does it represent ? ” 

“ Germantown and its surroundings.” 

Washington smiled, but did not speak. 

“ Captain,” said he a moment later, “ in what con- 
dition are the Boys of Liberty ? ” 


126 


The Council of War 


“ They are in prime condition for an advance 
movement. They have fully recovered from the hot 
hour at Brandywine." 

“ Ah ! that was a fight," and the eyes of the chief 
seemed to glow at the recollection. “ We might have 
fared better there, but for one or two little circum- 
stances. We will retrieve all this in the future. 
The enemy is holding Philadelphia and he is secure 
in his own estimation. That is all, Captain Pierce. 
You will be ready to march upon notice. I hope we 
will soon be able to show our faces once more to the 
enemy, and to see his back." 

Seeing that the interview was over, Benjamin again 
saluted and withdrew, followed by a benign smile from 
his chief. 

“ Something’s stirring," said Benjamin to himself 
when he found the open air. “ Washington is not 
going to lie idle long. The lion of liberty is getting 
ready for a spring and I hope he will throw the 
Legion in the van." 

If the guiding spirit of the Revolution was once 
more alone it was not for long. 


The Council of War 


12 7 


Footsteps were soon heard outside the little house 
and the door opened. 

The familiar figure of Mad Anthony Wayne stood 
on the threshold and Washington greeted him with a 
glow in his deep eyes. 

General Wayne came in and said a few words to 
which the commander-in-chief bowed and looked 
down at the map. 

Presently the door opened again and Knox and 
Greene entered side by side. 

Then came a dashing looking officer with a foreign 
air. He looked dandified with his darkish mustaches 
and sallow features, but he was decidedly handsome. 

This was the Count Pulaski, the Pole, the leader 
of Washington's horsemen and the hero of more than 
one battle. 

The count bowed to all present and drew to one 
side of the room as if he did not care to intrude his 
personality upon the council of war. 

Washington looked at the generals when they had 
all assembled and drew the map closer to him. 

“ I have just had the map verified,” he said in his 


128 


The Council of War 


well-known voice. “ It has been corrected in one or 
two particulars and I believe it is now all that we can 
expect.” 

“May I ask who corrected it?'’ quietly asked 
Knox, under whose supervision the chart had been 
made. 

“ Captain Pierce of the Boys of Liberty corrected 
it and he is familiar with the ground.” 

General Wayne bowed at this. 

“ I can endorse Captain Pierce,” said he. “ He and 
his boys did excellent work at Brandywine.” 

“ And at Trenton as well,” replied Knox, “ for I 
saw them there myself. I accept the corrections as 
made by Captain Pierce, Your Excellency.” 

Washington seemed pleased at this confidence 
placed in the young provincial captain and all drew 
closer to the table. 

“ Gentlemen,” said the commander-in-chief, “ the 
time has come for action. The enemy is feeling se- 
cure in and around Germantown. As learned from 
the best sources, the situation resolves itself into 
this: We have Knyphausen in command on the 


The Council of War 


129 


left. He has seven British and three Hessian bat- 
talions and the mounted and dismounted chasseurs. 
General Grant is on the right with six battalions of 
British troops and two squadrons of dragoons. There 
is no distinct centre, gentlemen.” 

General Greene raised his hand a little, attracting 
Washington’s attention. 

“ What is it, General Greene ? ” 

“ If the enemy has no distinct centre where is 
General Howe ? ” 

“ I should have said that, other than the local street 
crossings, there is no centre. General Howe has his 
headquarters about half a mile south of a spot which 
is here indicated,” and Washington laid his index 
finger on the map. 

Then rapidly but with great clearness the com- 
mander-in-chief proceeded to point out the different 
bodies of the enemy as shown on the parchment, ex- 
plaining everything as he went on. The generals 
listened closely and all must have been astonished at 
the information collected by Washington. 

He seemed to know all about the British army 


13° 


The Council of War 


lying at Germantown, a straggling village about six 
miles from old Philadelphia, but now a part of it. 

He seemed to know the location of every regiment 
in the British army, and explained matters with such 
clearness that his generals did not have to ask a 
question. 

Having sketched the enemy’s position Washington 
at last began to map out the next campaign. 

Again he was clear and incisive. 

He told his generals that the time for inaction had 
passed. 

They were to throw themselves upon the British 
at Germantown and, defeating them, recover Phila- 
delphia. 

It was an idea that did credit to the great general- 
ship of Washington. 

Nothing was more plausible. 

The Americans were still smarting over the 
defeat at Brandywine, and Lafayette was nursing 
the wound received there and not yet able to take the 
field. 

Greene was eager to do his part, and the light that 


The Council of War 


*3 l 

shone in Mad Anthony’s eyes as Washington pro- 
ceeded boded evil for the red-coated enemy. 

As for the quiet Knox, he listened, saying nothing, 
but he could be depended on when the hour came. 

Pulaski, wrapped in his cloak, nodded approval now 
and then as he twisted his mustache, and yearned for 
a dash at the enemy, whom he hated with all the 
power of one who had fled from the oppression of 
Russia to fight in the ranks of liberty. 

It was a scene fit for the brush of a great artist. 

For ten minutes Washington talked steadily, then, 
when he ceased, every head nodded approval. 

Nothing could supplement the plan of campaign as 
he had outlined it. 

“ What think you, General Greene ? ” asked Wash- 
ington, turning to the blacksmith hero. 

“ Your plan meets with my unqualified approval.” 

“ And you, General Knox ? ” 

“ I have no suggestions, for none are needed.” 

“ What think you, General Wayne ? ” 

“ It is perfect. We shall win ! You shall have a 
good report from the Legion.” 


132 


The Council of War 


Washington now turned to Count Pulaski. 

The silent Pole lifted his head at sound of Wash- 
ington’s voice. 

“ It eeze veil,” he said with his foreign accent. 
“ Ze enemy sail feel ze swords of my dragoons in zere 
backs. It shall be zis ! and zis ! and zis ! ” And the 
Pole struck out with his right arm as if he were 
dealing an enemy severe blows with the sabre. 

A smile passed over the faces of the generals, but 
the features of Washington did not relax. 

“ Now that we know what is to be done you will 
retire, gentlemen,” he said. “ When the advance is 
at hand you will know your places. I shall expect a 
good report from each of you.” 

One by one the officers filed from the council room 
until at last the Hope of America was left alone. 

Casimir Pulaski sidled up to General Wayne and 
looked up into his face. 

“ He eeze great ! ” said the Pole enthusiastically. 

“ He is a god ! ” cried the impulsive Wayne. “ He 
was created to plant the tree of freedom in North 
America and all the powers of the infernal regions 


The Council of War 


133 


aided by King George cannot uproot it ! We shall 
have some hot work at Germantown, count. It will 
be vengeance for the Brandywine.” 

The Pole twisted his mustache savagely and 
laughed. 

“ He has put the Legion in the front,” continued 
Wayne. “ It is just where I wanted. I want to crush 
those British squadrons. We will trample them in 
the dust, and don’t spare them when you find your- 
self in their midst, count. Remember Paoli ! ” 

Wayne’s teeth seemed to gnash as he mentioned 
that one word which already had sunk deep into his 
soul, for the night surprise at Paoli a few weeks before 
when the British general Grey had fallen by night 
upon Wayne’s camp was the one thing that now 
embittered the great soldier's life. 

And he hoped for vengeance. He longed for the 
day when he could pay them back for Paoli, when he 
could charge the enemy and drive the bayonet into 
British bosoms. 

Wayne and Pulaski walked to their quarters to- 
gether. 


134 


The Council of War 


The cause of liberty had made them fast friends. 

One had been born on the western continent, the 
other in far-away Poland, whose lamentable story 
nestled in every liberty-loving heart. 

At the door of Wayne's quarters they stopped and 
the Pole threw his arms about Mad Anthony's neck. 

He said nothing, but the embrace told more than 
words could have done. 

When he released Wayne there were tears in the 
American’s eyes and he laid his hand on Pulaski’s arm. 

“ I know, count, I know,” he said. “ After we are 
free, if you go home, you can take Anthony Wayne 
along for a spell. We will free Poland or know why 
not.” 

A few yards distant Captain Pierce lay awake in 
his own little quarters. 

“ We are to have another battle,” he said to him- 
self. “We are to surprise the redcoats again. But 
where are Frank and Tom ? It will be no fight at all 
if they are not with us in the breach.” 

And, thinking thus, he finally fell asleep, the sleep 
of a soldier of fortune and a hero of liberty. 


CHAPTER XI 


WHEN BLADES ARE DRAWN 

With the welfare of Tom Hapgood uppermost in 
his mind Captain Lowry was gratified to see Mon- 
tressor, the young Englishman, in the eating-house. 

He dared not proclaim his identity in that place, 
and it was with the greatest impatience that he waited 
for the officer to finish his meal. 

But Montressor gave no signs of soon quitting the 
cafe, and Frank watched him furtively and tried to 
catch the conversation passing between him and his 
comrades. 

Suddenly, to young Lowry's astonishment, the lie 
was passed, and Montressor and another sprang to their 
feet and stood gazing at each other like gladiators. 

The British captain's antagonist was his senior by 
some years, but the scion of the house of Seavoy 
stood his ground like a veteran and threw back the 
lie squarely into the other’s face. 

The sudden break in the quietude of the place put 


136 


When Blades Are Drawn 


every one on the alert, and in another moment half 
the spectators were on their feet. 

“ It is false ! ” cried young Montressor, as he laid 
his hand on his sword. “ I am not a traitor to the 
king. The man who says so must eat his words.” 

" But for your youth, young fellow, I would spit 
you as we spit pigs at home,” was the retort, and the 
older officer laughed derisively, which only irritated 
the youth the more. “ I have respect for your par- 
ents, who probably purchased you a commission in 
the army in hopes of getting you killed off in this 
blarsted land of Yankees and rebels. But for this I 
would promptly resent the insult, but will let the 
rebels finish you if you are bold enough to show 
them your face, which I very much doubt.” 

There was a general laugh at this, at young Mon- 
tressor’s expense, and the blade of the youth leaped 
from its scabbard. 

“ Stand ! ” he shouted to his enemy. “ I will waive 
the question of age and let you spill some Seavoy 
blood if you can. You ran at Brandywine, as the 
whole army knows — showed your back to the rebels, 


When Blades Are Drawn 


137 


and but for your fleetness some of Count Pulaski’s 
riders would have overtaken you.” 

“ It is false ! ” 

The face of the speaker was crimson, and all saw 
that the duel would not be long delayed. 

The other, a certain Major Calhutton, of Cornwallis' 
command, let out a mad curse and drew his blade as 
Montressor placed himself in position of attack. 

Tables were thrown back and chairs pushed in 
every direction and everybody awaited the first lunge. 

As for Frank Lowry, he was one of the most in- 
terested spectators in the room, and stepped forward 
to a spot where he could watch everything. 

He had resolved that young Montressor, his late 
prisoner, should not come out second best if he could 
prevent, for the young soldier’s safety was of the 
greatest importance to both himself and Tom Hap- 
good just then. 

He saw that Calhutton was the better swordsman, 
for he had age and experience in his favor, and his 
look told Frank that he intended to disable Mon- 
tressor, if not to kill him. 


138 


When Blades Are Drawn 


This desperate resolve probably arose from the wine 
the elder officer had been drinking ; for when wine is 
in, judgment is out, and, knowing this from what he 
had already seen during his service in the army, 
Captain Lowry edged his way a little closer. 

It did not take long to bring the enemies to the 
fighting point, for all at once Calhutton threw a low 
epithet into Montressor's face for the purpose of 
bringing on a lunge and the swords met in mid-air. 

The first pass proved to Frank that the younger 
soldier was no expert with the blade, for Calhutton 
parried the thrust with ease and, as was seen by all, 
held the life of the young officer at the point of his 
weapon. 

The sympathies of the crowd were with Mon- 
tressor, but Calhutton had his friends and it was 
easily seen that the latter were the better swordsmen. 

Lowry held his breath as thrust, parry and lunge 
were given in rapid succession, the crowd applauding 
nearly every act of the duellists, and his heart went 
into his throat as young Montressor stood at Cal- 
hutton’s mercy. 


When Blades Are Drawn 


1 39 


There was no real mercy in the old swordsman’s 
eyes. 

He probably wanted more fame as a duellist, for he 
knit his lips and gripped his blade the firmer for the 
death-blow. 

Montressor had uncovered his breast by a false 
thrust and all who saw it held their breath. 

The crisis in the fight had come. 

Lowry threw out his hands and swept the two 
spectators in his front aside. 

In another second he was in front of Montressor 
and the next he had wrenched the blade from his 
hand and confronted Calhutton with all the coolness 
of one who has a just cause. 

A shout went up from the crowd. 

Montressor, not understanding the quick move of 
young Lowry, looked at him with astonishment. 

Calhutton fell back a pace and dropped his sword 
for a moment. 

“ I am not fighting you ! ” he cried, looking at 
Frank. “ I haven’t summoned you here.” 

“ That is true, but you shall not murder a boy.” 


140 


When Blades Are Drawn 


“ Pray, what are you ? ” 

" Never mind that ! ” 

Then there was a cry of recognition from young 
Montressor’s lips. 

He knew Frank and doubtless the scene in Wayne’s 
camp had risen before his eyes. 

“ Here ! ” he exclaimed, as he attempted to recover 
his sword. “ Give me my blade and let me have it 
out with this coward.” 

But Frank held firmly to the hilt of the weapon and 
drew away from the young officer. 

There was rising turmoil everywhere in the room, 
for the friends of the first parties were taking sides 
and all saw that in a short time the whole house 
would be a battle-ground. 

But Major Calhutton was not to be deprived of 
his prey, for his blood was hot and he did not want 
to bear the name of coward which Montressor had 
dinned in his ears. 

“ Get out of the way, interloper ! ” he cried to 
Lowry. “ This is not your fight. It is mine and 
I intend to spit the young pigeon in approved style.” 


When Blades Are Drawn 


141 


“ After me,” was the response, as Frank met the 
look with irritating calmness. 

“ After you ? Never ! The young redcoat first ! 
You must be a country bumpkin and I don’t fight the 
scum of the byways.” 

But Frank made a quick pass which put Calhutton 
on his guard and the next moment the fun was fast 
and furious. 

Lowry had taken a few lessons in swordsmanship 
since entering the army and Count Pulaski had given 
him a few points in the art of self-defense as well as 
attack, and Calhutton ground his teeth when he dis- 
covered that he had no mean antagonist to deal with. 

The turmoil ceased and even Montressor fell back 
and with bated breath watched the swift movements 
of his ally. 

" Who is the fellow ? ” went from lip to lip. “ He 
knows a few points in the game and, by my life ! he 
will presently show Calhutton that a boy is not to be 
despised.” 

Frank heard this, but did not notice. 

He saw that he had for an enemy a man of ex- 


1 4 2 


When Blades Are Drawn 


perience in the art of duelling and that if he would 
come off best he must watch every movement as well 
as keep out of the way of the Britisher’s blade. 

Suddenly, and sooner than he had hoped, his oppor- 
tunity came. 

By a dextrous play he threw the major off his 
guard and for a flash his breast was uncovered. 

Lowry’s sword rose to the emergency at once. 

He threw his active body forward while at the same 
time he thrust out keenly and with vengeance, and his 
blade went slipping underneath Calhutton’s right arm 
and the Englishman’s sword fell ringing to the hard 
floor. 

A cry went up from Calhutton’s friends as that 
worthy fell staggering back and Lowry stepped aside. 

He still held to Montressor’s sword, for he did not 
know what another minute would bring forth. 

The hot fight had nearly winded him and he was 
glad when he felt young Montressor’s hand on his arm, 
and he was pushed aside into a group of the youth’s 
friends. 

“ You must get away from here,” said several voices 


When Blades Are Drawn 


H3 


in unison. “ You have wounded the old lion to the 
death and he is popular in certain quarters.” 

Lowry tried to get a glimpse of the blanched face 
lying near the floor surrounded by others, but half a 
dozen officers stepped between and shut off his view. 

“ Come,” whispered Montressor at his ear. “ Tis 
death for you to remain!” and Frank was almost 
dragged from the place by his friend and the two 
reached the open air together. 

They heard increasing turmoil behind them, loud 
voices and shouts as the two factions seemed to be 
getting ready for a general battle. 

“ In heaven’s name what brought you into this hor- 
net’s nest?” queried Montressor when he had con- 
ducted Lowry some distance from the scene of the 
duel. “ Don’t you know that this is the king’s 
city ? ” 

“ I know that you hold it for the present,” was the 
reply. “ But I trust it is but for a spell.” 

“ We'll determine that later on. You are in the 
shadow of death. Tell me what brought you hither. 
Did Mad Anthony send you ? ” 


i 4 4 


When Blades Are Drawn 


“ No; I came on my own account. I want to see 
whether a Montressor is as good as his word.” 

“ Ah ! I remember ! ” cried the young Britisher. 
“ You think me false, I see. I pledged you my word 
and honor ” 

“ You did,” interrupted Frank. “ You gave me the 
sacred word of a Montressor, saying that for the service 
I rendered in the provincial camp you would rescue 
my friend Tom Hapgood.” 

“ I gave my word.” 

“ But what have you done ? Nothing ! ” 

Lowry’s voice was full of bitterness. 

Montressor turned his head away for a moment, but 
soon looked Frank squarely in the face. 

" You should have waited.” 

“ How long ? You do not know that General Wayne 
has made me hostage, that unless Tom is back within 
a certain time, or if you do not report, I shall be 
brought up for trial and dismissed the army, if nothing 
worse.” 

" Did he say that ? ” 

“ It is the ultimatum of Mad Anthony, my com- 


When Blades Are Drawn 


HS 


mander. I trusted you, Captain Montressor. I gave 
you your freedom at the risk of my own honor. I 
accepted your pledged word ” 

“ Which I have not broken, sir," and the hand of 
Montressor fell again upon Lowry’s arm. “ I can look 
you in the face and say that the honor of Montressor 
is still unsullied. Gods ! how you fought to-night. 
Who taught you that thrust which won the battle ? " 

“ Count Casimir Pulaski, of Washington’s army." 

" Ah, the fighting Pole ! " cried Montressor. “ We 
have heard of him. He is a whirlwind in battle." 

“ And a swordsman of two continents. But come 
back to the other matter." 

“ I will. Your friend Tom Hapgood is free ! " 

“ Free ! " cried Frank, stepping back and looking 
incredulously into the young Briton's face. 

“ He is free ! " 

“ Impossible ! " 

“ To-morrow when they open the door to lead him 
out they will find but a dummy in his prison." 

The look of unbelief lingered on Lowry’s face. 

“ Who did it ? " he asked. 


146 


When Blades Are Drawn 


“ Ask not, but know that Montressor has kept his 
word." 

The boys stood in the shadow of a tall wooden 
building and Frank suddenly put out his hand. 

It was cordially grasped by the other and they re- 
mained for half a second looking into each other’s 
faces in silence. 

“ You can go back to the Legion and fight again,” 
said Montressor, the first to speak. “ You will have 
Tom Hapgood at your side and they say he is a 
furious foe. You must go now, for danger lurks for 
you in every shadow that falls to-night in the Quaker 
City. We are friends, not foes, Captain Lowry. You 
can tell your Mad Anthony that Captain Montressor 
has redeemed himself. And should we ever meet 
on the field of battle know that my sword — the one 
you fought with for me this night — shall never seek 
your heart.” 

The chivalry of his young foe touched Frank to the 
quick. 

He would have replied in like strain, but for a 
sudden push on Montressor’s part. 


When Blades Are Drawn 


H7 


“ The night patrol ! " was shouted in his ear. “ This 
way ! Quick ! They may be looking for you." 

Frank was hurried into a darker section of the 
street, thrust into an open doorway, his hand was 
grasped in farewell, and Montressor was gone. 


CHAPTER XII 


MASTER HAPGOOD’S STORY 

Early the following morning Captain Benjamin 
Pierce of the Boys of Liberty was startled to find 
facing him Tom Hapgood, whose impending fate 
was known to nearly the whole army. 

“Where did you come from?” cried Benjamin. 
“ You come back like one long dead. The last we 
heard of you you were in the shadow of the noose in 
Philadelphia ” 

“ But you see my neck is still intact,” and Tom 
put up his hand and opened his collar. “ I've had a 
narrow escape, I guess, and but for some one whom 
I did not get to thank I wouldn't be here at this mo- 
ment congratulating myself on my freedom.” 

“ Some friend whom you did not get to see, you 
say ? ” 

“ That’s it exactly. I had been sentenced without 
trial, for they didn't intend to take any chances with 
me and I knew that if I were in durance at sunrise 


Master HapgoocTs Story 


149 


this morning I would be marched out between files 
of redcoats and hanged in the most approved 
manner.” 

“ Well?” 

“ Last night after midnight I heard some one 
talking with my guard. The big guard was a sort 
of clever fellow who was tired of the war and who 
wants to get home as soon as possible. I listened of 
course and managed to overhear some words that 
sent my heart up into my throat. Presently the 
conversation ceased and some one went away. I 
went back to the poor cot they had furnished me, 
but for my life I could not sleep. I lay awake count- 
ing the moments, as it were, and hearing an old clock 
which was not far off striking the hour. I felt that 
it was cutting an hour out of my life, and when the 
sound of the last stroke died away I went to the door.” 

“ To talk with the guard ? ” 

“ Yes. He often stopped there and looking 
through the little round hole cut in one of the 
panels would stand and tell me about his family 
across the water. We became pretty well acquainted 


150 


Master Hapgood’s Story 


and he wasn’t the worst fellow in the world. I hope 
Jack Munroe will live to get back to England. 

“ Well, I finally went back to my cot and fell 
asleep. The first thing I knew I was pulled out upon 
the floor and told to change clothes. The man who 
spoke to me had a part of his face masked and he 
threw upon the cot a bundle of clothes which he bade 
me put on at once. Half dreaming, I complied, and 
when I had completed my toilet the man stuffed my 
garments with straw and rags which had been 
brought to the cell and laid the dummy on the cot. 
I watched all this speechless, but I felt that it meant 
freedom. When the dummy had been arranged in a 
manner to deceive the keenest eyes I was pushed 
from the room by the man who told me in no un- 
certain tones to make myself as scarce as possible.” 

“ But the guard ? ” asked Benjamin. 

“ Bless you, during all this time I saw nothing of 
Jack Munroe. If he remained in the neighborhood 
he kept himself out of sight and did not assist in 
the liberation. I reached the street unmolested, took 
down it like a fleeing shadow and got into the out- 


Master Hapgood’s Story 151 

skirts as soon as possible. I passed through German- 
town ” 

“ Then you came directly through the enemy’s 
lines ? ” 

“ Yes, but they seemed open for my flight. I 
slipped by the Chew House where a lot of redctoats 
seemed to be having a merry time, and nothing would 
do me but to sneak up to the windows and take a 
peep inside. It was all red in there,” and Tom 
smiled. “ There must have been twenty officers in- 
side having a good time, for one of their number was 
mounted on a table and singing at the top of his 
voice. I tell you, Captain Benjamin, my fingers itched 
to have a good musket, for there would have been a 
tumbling officer and a lot of spilled wine.” 

“ Just like you, Tom,” exclaimed Benjamin. “ Your 
impulses will get you into trouble yet.” 

“ Probably so. But where is Frank?” 

“ He is not in the camp. We haven’t seen him for 
some time.” 

“ I trust he wasn’t foolish enough to go to Phila- 
delphia in hopes of getting me out of prison.” 


152 


Master HapgoocTs Story 


“ I cannot say." 

“ Does the general know where he is ? ” 

“ I cannot answer that question either." 

“ He will be caught if he goes to the city. My 
escape has been discovered before this and it will 
throw the whole city into an uproar. They will rake 
it as with a fine tooth-tomb and their drag-net will 
take in everything. I know that Captain Frank is 
able to take care of himself, but sometimes one’s head 
gets into danger despite his ability to keep cool." 

“ That is true ; but perhaps the general would like 
to see you." 

Tom was taken across to Mad Anthony's head- 
quarters, and the lion of the Revolution gave a quick, 
glad cry at sight of him. 

Benjamin left the young Long Islander with Wayne, 
and waited for him at his own little place. 

Half an hour later Tom emerged from Mad An- 
thony’s quarters, while that officer posted off to 
Washington. 

“ There’s something brewing," said Tom when he 
rejoined Benjamin. 


Master HapgoocTs Story 


153 


“ What makes you think so ? ” 

“ I saw it in Mad Anthony’s eye. We are going 
to have another tussle with my lords Cornwallis and 
Howe.” 

“ Mad Anthony didn’t say so ? ” 

“ Not he. He keeps his counsels, and I guess a 
boy like me would be the last person he would tell 
anything to.” 

“ Well, Tom, it looks to me like a fight. I have 
been to Washington’s quarters, whither I was called 
for the purpose of verifying a certain map.” 

“ A map of what ? ” 

“ Of Germantown and vicinity.” 

" That's it exactly ! We are going to surprise the 
enemy there.” 

“ It is Washington’s secret if any one’s. But tell 
me about Priscilla, Tom.” 

“ What can I say about her ? I didn’t see her once 

during my absence. She is in the city, I think ” 

“ She is there ! ” 

“ You have heard from her?” 

“ Indirectly.” 


*54 


Master HapgoocTs Story 


“ And Captain Frank- ” 

Benjamin flushed. 

“ I don’t think he has been favored lately with a 
letter from her. She writes to me as often as she 
does to him, I think. Priscilla is in a ticklish place, 
and her correspondence must, of necessity, be limited. 
She may manage to get a word through the lines now 
and then. I think she did get something through not 
long ago, but it was a message to Mad Anthony.” 

“ I heard of her but once,” said Tom. “ She was 
mentioned by one of my guards, a fellow by, the name 
of Simon, who remarked that some of the fair rebels in 
the city should have their wings cropped.” 

“ And he mentioned Priscilla, did he ? ” 

“ Yes, Priscilla and her friend, Mistress Bess Fergu- 
son, who is the niece of the rich old Quaker by that 
name. They accuse Bess of turning rebel, and it 
amused me to hear them berate her in all sorts of 
terms. It was extremely funny,” and Tom laughed. 

A few minutes later a young corporal came up, ex- 
tending a letter to Benjamin which that officer took 
with eagerness. 


Master Hapgood’s Story 


155 


It was a folded sheet, sealed with wax and stamped 
with a crest, which he did not recognize. 

He uttered an exclamation of surprise as he glanced 
at the contents of the letter. 

“ Well, this is strange ! ” he said, looking at Tom, 
who was furtively watching him. “ Here is a letter 
from Mistress Beverley ” 

“ Not from Priscilla herself?” 

“ From no one else. She is about to quit the 
city.” 

“ That's a good move. She should get out of Phila- 
delphia as soon as possible, for she is always in danger 
there.” 

“ But it looks to me as though her jump is going to 
be from the frying-pan into the fire.” 

“ How’s that ? ” 

“ She’s going to Germantown.” 

“ Why, there’s where the enemy is ! ” 

“ Yes.” 

“ Have they banished her from the city ? ” 

“ No, she’s going thither by invitation.” 

Tom looked incredulous. 


156 


Master Hapgood’s Story 


“ Who would invite Mistress Beverley to German- 
town ? ” 

“ It seems that her friend Bess Ferguson has a friend 
there in the person of Mistress Chew, of the Chew 
House.” 

“ A few more * chews ' and I shall sneeze,” laughed 
Tom, as he looked at Benjamin in a comical manner. 
“ Well, this beats all. When is she going ? ” 

“ In a day or so, she writes.” 

“She’ll be nearer us, you know, but she will 
have to cut her p’s and q's straight while she is with 
the Chews. They’re away up, I’m told, and their 
house is the finest in Germantown. We’ll be apt to 
see something of it if we get into a fight with the 
enemy there.” 

Benjamin folded the letter and thrust it into his 
pocket without reading it to Tom. 

Tom looked a little disappointed, but said nothing, 
and in a few minutes the pair separated. 

Benjamin started off to find the young soldier who 
had brought him Priscilla’s letter, and when found he 
was told that another had arrived for Frank, at which 


Master Hapgood’s Story 


1 57 


Benjamin fell to looking glum, asked no more ques- 
tions, and walked back. 

The day drew to a close and night again asserted 
her supremacy. 

The American camp became quiet and nothing but 
the challenge of the sentries sounded on the air. 

It was the ending of September and the foliage 
everywhere had received the first tints of autumn and 
upon the bosom of the Schuylkill, not far away, the 
waves danced in the soft light of the stars. 

A night-hawk screamed his discordant notes as he 
flitted through the shadows on darkened wing, and 
over the landscape brooded the silence that seemed to 
precede a clash of arms. 

Suddenly there rose from the lips of a sentry 
on the outskirts of the camp a clear challenge and 
a tall figure stopped within a few feet of the lowered 
bayonet. 

“ Who goes there ? ” 

“ A friend.” 

The guard leaned forward, his hand on the trigger, 
for Washington had commanded every person in the 


>58 


Master Hapgood’s Story 


American camp to be on perpetual alertness and ex- 
tremely cautious. 

The tall figure advanced and bent toward the 
guard. 

“ Bunker Hill ! ” fell from the lips of the half 
muffled figure. 

The guard straightened to a “ present ” and stepped 
back to let the man pass. 

The stranger with the step of a soldier passed the 
sentry a few feet and, stopping, looked at him. 

It was Washington himself. 

The great soldier had been going the " grand 
rounds ” alone and at the silent hour of darkness. 

He leaned forward and laid his hand on the guard’s 
arm. 

“ Eternal vigilance is the price of liberty. Re- 
member that, my man,” he said. “ The foe are over 
yonder,” and his outstretched hand pointed toward 
Germantown. “ We must relax none of our vigi- 
lance. We must feel, each one of us, I mean, that 
upon our shoulders rest the destinies of our 
country.” 


Master HapgoocTs Story 


1 59 


With this his hand left the soldier's arm and the 
sentry saluted as his eyes filled with tears. 

He did not reply, for like a shadow Washington 
had vanished, and a night-hawk flew by on sombre 
wing. 

The guard for a moment heard footsteps on the 
ground, but they faded gently, and he was alone 
again. 

Washington proceeded alone into the camp. 

He passed on to his own quarters, but it was not 
to throw himself upon the cot for rest. 

He seated himself at a table and by the light of 
a solitary candle busied himself with some official 
papers. 

The night crept on. 

The silence seemed to grow more intense until the 
sentinel in front of the headquarters was startled by 
his own tread. 

Whenever he passed the window he would look in 
and see his chief bending over the table, pen or com- 
pass in hand. 

Midnight came. 


i6o 


Master Hapgood’s Story 


Washington rose at last and retired to another 
room. There he remained for a few moments and 
the sentinel drew closer to the house and bowed his 
head. * 

He knew what was taking place in that little room 
behind the closed door. Washington was holding 
communion with his God. 

At last the door swung open and the stately pres- 
ence of Washington was seen again. 

He looked over the papers a little more, gathered 
them together and put all away. Then, with a glance 
toward the window, he went back into the little 
chamber and all became quiet again. 

The sentry became more alert. He saw everything 
now as he paced his beat, for he knew that he was 
guarding the fortunes of America in the person of 
George Washington. 


CHAPTER XIII 


BESIEGED 

Captain Frank Lowry of the Legion succeeded in 
making his escape from Philadelphia after the episode 

of the duel with Major Calhutton in the eating-house. 

# „ 

Fortunately for himself he did not meet any of the 
enemy, and when he reached Wayne’s camp and found 
that Tom Hapgood had preceded him he was over- 
joyed. 

Mad Anthony greeted him cordially, saying that he 
had made up his mind to give him a severe reprimand 
for letting young Montressor go, but, since things 
had turned out so well, he thought he could con- 
gratulate him on his foresight. 

One the evening of the 2d of October, a carriage 
drawn by a pair of black horses entered the strag- 
gling street of Germantown, six miles from the 
Quaker City. 

Its occupants were two young ladies who were set 
down in front of the Chew House. 


162 


The travelling companions were Mistresses Bess 
Ferguson and Priscilla Beverley. 

Mistress Bess had received a cordial invitation 
from the fair tenant of the old house to pay her a 
visit and included in it was a request to bring Pris- 
cilla along. 

The girls were delighted with the idea of getting 
away from the turmoil of the city. 

They had been surfeited with attentions from the 
well-fed and well-groomed British officers, and felt 
that they would be nearer the American camp during 
their visit at Germantown. 

Priscilla could afford to quit Philadelphia, for Gen- 
eral Howe’s drag-net had failed to catch Ben Markley, 
the ardent young patriot, who, with some other mem- 
bers of the True Hearts of Liberty, had succeeded in 
joining the American army then lying at Pennibecker’s 
Mill, about twenty miles from the city. 

Young Markley had gained a good deal of notoriety 
for refusing to drink the king’s health as detailed in 
our opening chapter, and Lord Howe was anxious to 
secure him, for he was suspected of liberating Tom 


Besieged 


163 


Hapgood ; but the young patriot was too sharp for 
the Britisher and effected his escape. 

The girls received a warm welcome at the Chew 
House. 

This famous old mansion, which was destined to 
play an important part in the battle of Germantown, 
was built of stone with spacious wings. In various 
parts of the surrounding grounds stood handsome 
statues, while shade was plentiful and cooling. 

Its owner, Benjamin Chew, was by birth a Mary- 
lander, who settled in Pennsylvania, where he became 
chief justice. 

When the Revolution broke out he was suspected 
of being a Tory, but after the signing of the Declara- 
tion he became Whig in his politics and was forced 
to leave the state, which he did in 1777, for he was 
arrested by the British and sent to Fredericksburg, 
Virginia, as a prisoner. 

The great old house had sheltered him a long time 
and now, compelled to leave it, he turned it over to 
others who were destined to hear cannon-balls crash 
through its stone walls. 


164 


Besieged 


Priscilla and Bess had to drive through a part of 
the British army to reach their destination. 

From the first they became objects of curiosity and 
smilingly returned the bows of the red- coated officers 
who lined the road to do them homage. 

They had much to tell within the walls of the Chew 

House, and were listened to wdth attention. 

* 

Mistress Chew welcomed them cordially, saying 
that she hoped they would do nothing to invoke 
the ire of the king’s men ; but that night their souls 
were sorely tried. 

A party of officers came to the mansion and asked 
permission to occupy the front rooms. 

This was granted, as it was policy for the inmates 
to do so, and before long a noisy banquet was in 
progress. 

The three young ladies shut themselves up in other 
rooms on the second floor and listened to the uproar 
down-stairs. 

As the fun waxed fast and furious with revel and 
song, the noise increased until Mistress Chew went to 
the head of the stairs and called to the officers below. 


Besieged 


165 

A handsome captain came into the hall and asked 
what the young lady wanted. 

He was requested to temper the merriment a trifle, 
as the young ladies were about to retire and wanted 
to get a good night’s sleep. 

“ By my soul ! you shall sleep like the doves you 
are ! ” answered the red-coated captain. “ I will see 
that your slumbers are not disturbed. Wine is in and 
wit is out, but that shall not break your repose.” 

Thus assured Mistress Chew withdrew and reported. 

“ It won’t be long that way,” said Bess. " They 
will be at it soon, for they are making a night of it.” 

Sure enough, the temporary quiet was rudely 
broken by a shout loud enough to awaken the seven 
sleepers of Ephesus. 

Some one was pounding on the heavy front doors. 

In another moment several more officers joined 
their comrades in the house, and as a voice came 
up-stairs Priscilla exclaimed : 

“ It is Lieutenant Cummings ! ” 

“ Yes, dear, the man who set up the plot against 
you when you refused to drink the king’s health. 


1 66 


Besieged 


He has evidently tracked us thither and is here to 
repeat his act.” 

“ Which he shall not do ! ” responded Mistress Chew. 
“ This is our house, though loaned for the time being 
to the party down-stairs. They shall perpetrate no 
indignities upon my guests ” 

Voices were heard at the bottom of the stairs. 

“ Fetch them down — all three of the angels ! ” 

“ That’s right, Cummings. We will have a song 
from the rebel doves and perhaps a toast.” 

Mistress Chew lost color. 

She opened the door and leaned over the balustrade. 

“ What is it — gentlemen ? ” she called down the 
flight. 

“ Will you ladies come down a few moments ? ” 

“ It is impossible. We are getting ready to retire 
and ” 

“ We want beauty at the banquet,” was the interrup- 
tion. “ We cannot get along without it.” 

“ You will have to excuse us. I have no heart to 
disturb my guests. They have come out from the city 
and are fatigued.” 


Besieged 


167 


“ Why, Mistress Chew, ’tis but six miles into Phila- 
delphia, and your guests have journeyed farther than 
that without taxing their strength. 

But the fair occupant of the mansion was still ob- 
durate. 

“ I cannot think of having them witness a bout by 
British officers. It would surely prejudice them against 
the cause.” 

Priscilla and Bess, who were staunch Whigs, laughed 
behind the half-open door. 

“Fetch them down, Cummings! You’ve had a 
good deal of experience with young ladies and we look 
to you to furnish additional joy for the feast.” 

Lieutenant Cummings, who was a tall and handsome 
young officer, mounted the stairs and half way up 
gazed into Mistress Chew's face. 

“You will not, you say ?” said he. “We do not 
mean harm to your pretty guests, but we want them 
to grace the board below.” 

“ I cannot consent to their doing so.” 

“ Then we will be compelled to take them down.” 

“ What! are you British officers? I am astonished 


i68 


Besieged 


to think that you would offer such an indignity to 
young ladies.” 

Not abashed in the least, for the lieutenant was 
flushed with wine, he held to the balustrade and said : 

“ Beauty must bow to Mars on this occasion. We 
will not have it otherwise.” 

" Why, I thought ” 

“ With all due respect to you, Mistress Chew, we 
must see the fair ones.” 

Mistress Chew withdrew leaving Cummings on the 
stair while his comrades made the night hideous below. 

“ What is to be done ? ” she said as she presented 
herself to her guests. 

“ Barricade the door ! ” cried Bess Ferguson. “ They 
will not attempt to force it, surely.” 

" They are heated with wine and there’s no telling 
to what lengths they will go.” 

“ Who heads the roysterers?” asked Priscilla. 

“ Major Gordon, of the Queen’s Rangers.” 

“ I know him,” cried Bess. “ He has been our guest 
on numerous occasions. Bar the door against him, I 
say.” 


Besieged 


169 


“ Then it shall be done since you know something 
of this fellow,” responded Mistress Chew. “ We will 
keep them out at the sacrifice of our lives.” 

“ Hoping all the time for the best,” whispered 
Priscilla. 

The young ladies fell to work and in a short time 
had placed a heavy table and some chairs against 
the door which they had previously locked and, 
when finished, they stepped back and surveyed their 
work. 

“ They’re talking on the stair,” said Mistress Chew 
in low tones. 

“ Holding a council of war doubtless.” 

The hum of voices which came up the steps was 
soon followed by the tread of many feet and then 
voices in the corridor on the second floor. 

“ The enemy is at hand ! ” exclaimed Mistress 
Ferguson. 

Presently some one struck the door a goodly blow 
and the girls stepped back and waited. 

“ Ho ! in there, young ladies ? ” 

The fair trio looked at one another and smiled. 


170 


Besieged 


“ Let’s parley,” came from the outside. “ If you 
will open the door we will have a talk and ” 

“ The door will not be opened ! ” interrupted the 
voice of the determined Mistress Chew. 

“ Hear that, Gordon? They won’t listen to us.” 

“ Just as if we were going to devour them like the 
cannibals of the south seas. I say, my fair ones, we 
don’t intend the slightest indignity. We only want 
to have a little conference.” 

“ You will state your proposition from where you 
are.” 

“ But talking through a door is not permissible in 
polite society.” 

“ Neither is insulting young ladies after dark.” 

It was Bess who spoke and her fine eyes glowed 
with animation as she uttered the words. 

“ That’s Mistress Ferguson, the damsel who has 
put General Huston off until after the king has de- 
clared the rebels free and independent.” 

At this there was a laugh at Mistress Bess’ ex- 
pense and she turned defiantly toward the door. 

“ You can wait as long for the door to open as 


Besieged 


171 


General Huston may wait for Mistress Ferguson ! ” 
was her retort. 

This time the laugh was not so loud, but the next 
moment the door was struck heavily by the hilt of a 
sword. 

“ Open ! ” cried some one. “ We’ll break in if you 
do not." 

Mistress Chew opened an old-fashioned wardrobe 
in one corner of the room and took out three mus- 
kets. 

Her face was white. 

She placed a musket in the hands of each of her 
fair guests and advanced to the door, wearing a look 
of determination. 

“ Gentlemen," she cried, “ we are not unarmed. 
We shall defend ourselves from your insults to the 
last extremity. Chew House is more or less an 
arsenal, and a part of it is now in our hands." 

“ What’s that ? By the furies ! they have weapons 
of some sort." 

“ We hold three good British muskets whose bullets 
can penetrate the door and do some damage beyond. 


l 7 2 


Besieged 


You will therefore betake yourselves from the hall 
and from the house as well before ” 

“ Don’t let a lass scare His Majesty’s soldiers ! ” cut 
in some one in the hall. “ Break the door down and 
show these fair vixens that we are not fools.” 

A short silence reigned in the corridor. 

“ You will shoot through the door at my com- 
mand,” said Mistress Chew quietly to her friends. 

She spoke loud enough for those outside to hear. 

There was a hasty shuffling of feet beyond the 
portal. 

“ Ho ! ” cried some one. “ There’s Major Andre 
on the stair.” 

Those who turned and could see after their dissipa- 
tion looked and saw a handsome young officer half- 
way up the stair. 

" Gentlemen,” he said in firm tones, “ I have orders 
from General Howe which compel you to quit this 
house at once.” 

“ The deuce you have ! ” roared Cummings, who 
did not like the young major. 

“ You doubt me at your peril, Lieutenant Cum- 


Besieged 


173 


mings. The orders are peremptory. You must quit 
this house and leave its inmates to themselves.” 

“ Some one has betrayed us.” 

“ Never mind how the news reached the general. 
You will come away immediately.” 

There were muttered curses and some growling, the 
crowd of redcoats went down the stair, and Major 
John Andre with a smile on his face saw the last 
one slink from Chew House and lose himself in the 
darkness. 


CHAPTER XIV 


THE CHASSEUR 

The German Chasseurs were stationed some dis- 
tance from Germantown, near the banks of the Schuyl- 
kill, and not far from Wissahickon Creek, where the 
latter debouches into the river. 

On the night when the banquet at Chew House so 
disturbed the rest of the three young ladies a large 
chasseur might have been seen seated on his horse 
along a road that ran lonely through a belt of timber. 

He was doing sentry duty in that quarter, and so 
lonely was the spot that whenever a night-hawk flew 
by he dodged as though a bullet had sped from a 
patriot rifle. 

At last the head of the sentry dropped forward on 
his broad bosom, and he seemed to sleep. 

The moment that this took place there came from 
among the shadows behind the horse a figure that at 
first resembled an animal creeping along the ground 
— skimming the surface with its darkish belly. 


The Chasseur 


>75 


The chasseur did not see this creeping object which 
made no noise, and not until it reached a spot within 
arms’ length of the sleeping man did it resolve itself 
into a human being. 

Then it became a lithe youth, dressed in buff and 
blue, and a pair of keen eyes regarded the imperilled 
man. 

The horse pricked his ears half sleepily, and the 
man slept on. 

At last the object on the ground drew so close to 
the chasseur that he could have touched him. 

“ Now’s my time," said a low voice. “ That fellow 
sleeps like a log. Perhaps he is dreaming of his 
home across the sea and not of the coming fight. I 
have him at my mercy, and why should I spare him ? 
They hanged my father and orphaned me on Long 
Island. Why should I spare a single one of them 
when I have taken an oath of vengeance ? ’’ 

The speaker drew still nearer. 

He drew from beneath the folds of his frock a 
pistol, which he directed at the unconscious man in 
the saddle. 


176 


The Chasseur 


Tom Hapgood’s finger was at the trigger. 

He looked over the barrel that glinted in the soft 
starlight and caught sight of the face the pistol 
covered. 

He had but to press the trigger to send a human 
soul into eternity, but it was not war. 

Tom had slipped up on the man with the stealth of 
the fox ; he had glided from Washington’s camp and, 
skurrying over hill and dale with the fleetness of that 
same tireless animal, had come upon the picket of 
the enemy. 

The oath of revenge which he had taken after his 
father’s death he had not forgotten for a moment. 

It had been with him ever since, animating his life 
and filling him with a desire to shed the blood of the 
enemy. 

Now he had his opportunity. 

The chasseur had never harmed him ; he was but 
a hired soldier; his prince had sold him to King 
George for so much gold, and had thrust him from 
home and friends to fight in a cause in which he had 
no heart, and perhaps to die in a foreign land. 


The Chasseur 


177 


The chasseur was one of the Hessian hirelings — 
one of those men who fought like tigers for gold, and 
whose deeds sometimes brought the blush of shame 
to the cheeks of their officers. 

Tom thought of these things as he stood at the 
chasseur’s side with the cocked pistol in his hand. 

How peacefully the giant slept ! 

Surely a ruthless demon in red would not sleep 
thus. 

Perhaps the chasseur was not like his kind; this 
one might possess a kindly nature, a good heart. 

But the oath ! Ah ! there it was, and it rose before 
Tom like a command. 

A stern look flashed up in his eye ; he had beaten 
down the impulses of mercy and the chasseur must 
die. 

He wore the scarlet uniform of the king’s army and 
that was enough. 

Tom thrust his hand a little further upward. 

The muzzle of the pistol almost touched the man's 
face when he thought of something. 

What if others were near ? 


178 


The Chasseur 


This man might not be the only one in the neigh- 
borhood, and the flash of the pistol might seal the 
avenger’s doom. 

The thought went through Tom’s mind like a flash- 
ing train of powder. 

He lowered the pistol and crept away. 

Then he made a circle of the man, using his eyes 
and ears, but finally came back to the prey. 

The chasseur was sleeping still. 

Once more Tom Hapgood crept to his side. 

Once more the weapon of the avenger was uplifted 
and it crept forward as before. 

This time he did not hesitate. 

The report of the pistol cut the silence that pre- 
vailed in that haunted spot and the heavy form of the 
king’s chasseur toppled in the saddle. 

There was a little cry, the horse started forward, but 
Tom with the alertness of the acrobat sprang forward 
and seized the lines. 

The animal stopped and the avenger led him back 
while he stooped over his victim. 

Tom saw the bulky figure on the ground, the heavy 


The Chasseur 


179 


boots touching the edge of the road and the head on 
the grass. 

He leaned over the swarthy face and listened. 

There was no sound. 

“ For my father ! ” was all the boy avenger said half 
audibly as he got upon his feet again. “ They did it 
and they must pay the penalty. An eye for an eye 
and a tooth for a tooth ! ” 

It was the old Mosaic law and Tom Hapgood was 
its executioner. 

The boy did not despoil the dead, only taking the 
handsomely mounted pistols from the holsters. These 
he examined for a moment and then replacing them 
mounted himself. 

In a little while there was nothing along the road 
but the dead. 

Tom rode away over hill and dale on the captured 
steed which did not seem to miss the giant. 

It was daylight when the boy rode into the Ameri- 
can camp. 

“ What’s that yonder ? ” asked Captain Lowry, as he 
spied something between him and the horizon. “ By 


i8o 


The Chasseur 


my life’s best day ! some one is coming this way 
mounted.” 

“ Why, 'tis Tom Hapgood ! ” replied his companion, 
who was Captain Pierce. “ Where has the boy been ? 
And that horse ? ” 

“ Another notch on the stick, no doubt,” responded 
Frank. 

They continued to watch the youth till he drew rein 
before them, a light of triumph flashing up in his eyes 
as he looked down upon them. 

41 Where did you get that horse ? ” asked Captain 
Benjamin. 

“ Where I left his owner.” 

“ 'Tis a chasseur’s horse.” 

“ Right you are, Captain Ben. And he was a big 
chasseur, too.” 

“ What ! did you kill him, Tom ? ” 

The eyes glowed again. 

The young Long Islander looked into the two faces 
for a moment in silence and then said : 

“ Have you forgotten ? It was on the island. They 
hanged my father ! ” 


The Chasseur 


181 

Then the young avenger coolly stroked the sleek 
hide of the big steed and smiled. 

“ I shall give the horse to our Mad Anthony,” he 
said. “ I heard him say yesterday that his own horse 
was nearly used up and this one will carry him well.” 

" And do you think Mad Anthony will accept the 
gift?” 

“ Why not ? The horse can carry him.” 

“ Perhaps, but the manner of its capture.” 

“ I can try him at any rate,” and Tom gathered up 
the lines. 

“ Wait a minute ! ” said Frank. “ What’s that 
sticking from beneath the saddle ? ” 

Tom turned and looked. 

He saw a bit of something sticking from under the 
saddle and wondered why he had not noticed it before. 

When he drew it forth he found it to be a folded 
bit of heavy paper. 

“ Here,” he said, handing it down to Captain Ben- 
jamin. “ I don’t care for it.” 

The captain of the Boys of Liberty took the paper 


and unfolded it. 


182 


The Chasseur 


“ What is it ? ” asked Frank. 

Benjamin looked up at Tom. 

“ Are you sure the man is dead ? ” he asked. 

“ Why shouldn’t he be ? Do you think I miss 
men at three paces ? ” 

“ Why, no ; but this is strange.” 

Tom's look became a stare. 

“ What is it ? " he cried. “ Hand me the 
paper.” 

“No! But what puzzles me is how did this get 
into the dead chasseur’s hands ? ” 

“ But you haven’t said what it is,” cried the im- 
patient Tom. “ I’m dying to know.” 

“ Well, sir, this is a brief statement of General 
Knyphausen’s command, its numbers, its position and 
everything. It is most important. The chasseur 
must have been desirous of having possession of such 
information but, had his general known it, you would 
never have got to shoot him to-night, Tom.” 

“ Then it will be news for Washington.” 

“ And just when he needs it.” 

“ I’ll take it to him,” cried Tom, holding out his 


The Chasseur 


183 


hand for the paper. “ Hand it over here, Captain 
Ben. I’ll take it to the general.” 

But Benjamin drew back whereupon Tom’s eyes 
flashed. 

“ You won’t, eh ? ” 

“ I’ll see that it reaches Washington,” said Ben- 
jamin. 

“ I’ll do that myself. Here, sir,” and the dragoon’s 
pistol was thrust downward into Benjamin’s face. 
“ Deliver up that paper or by the eternal gods ! I'll 
send you after the chasseur ! ” 

There was no mistaking the mien of the boy 
avenger. 

His whole being seemed to have changed in a 
moment. 

His face was colorless and his eyes glowed with 
mad determination. 

Frank leaned toward Benjamin and gave him a look 
of advice. 

“ But, Tom ” 

" No * buts,’ sir,” cried the Long Islander. “ Hand 

/ 

over my property. I killed for it and it is mine ! ” 


184 


The Chasseur 


The speakers hand seemed to quiver round the 
butt of the pistol and his finger played with the dark 
trigger. 

“ Hand it over, Captain Ben ! ” 

Benjamin hesitated no longer, but handed up the 
paper which Tom received with the disengaged hand. 

“ Til see that General Washington gets it,” he said 
grimly. “ Never fear for that.” 

Tom struck the steed in the rowels with his heels 
and was off like a bolt. 

“ He would have shot you, Benjamin,” remarked 
Captain Lowry as he looked after the horse and his 
rider. 

“ I know it. 4 Shoot * was in his eye and I saw it. 
If I had withheld the paper a moment longer I would 
have had ci bullet in my head. He had a bead on me 
all the time. But how did that chasseur get that in- 
formation ? ” 

“ You need not seek the solution of the mystery, 
for the man is dead. It is fortunate anyhow, for 
Washington, strange to say, had information concern- 
ing every other command in the British army but 


The Chasseur 


185 


Knyphausen’s. I say the shooting of the chasseur 
was most fortunate.” 

“ In a military point of view, but it was bad for the 
chasseur,” smiled Frank. 

A few minutes after quitting the two young cap- 
tains Tom Hapgood was halted by the guard at 
Washington’s headquarters. 

The boy made his wants known promptly. He 
wanted to see the commander-in-chief. 

A moment later the stalwart figure of Washington 
appeared in the doorway. 

“ Ah ! ” cried Tom as he saluted. “ I have a bit of 
paper for the commander-in-chief.” 

Washington came forward and took the paper from 
Tom’s hand. 

The young Long Islander watched him as he 
opened it and mastered its contents. 

“ Where did you get this ? ” asked Washington. 

" Where I left the person who had it.” 

“ And where was that, pray ? ” 

“ Near where the Wissahickon flows into the 


Schuylkill.” 


1 86 


The Chasseur 


“ What ! so hear the enemy’s lines ? ” 

“ It was a British picket — a chasseur, Your Ex- 
cellency." 

“ Your name, young sir?" 

“ Tom Hapgood, now of Wayne’s Legion.” 

Washington said no more, but with another look at 
the young avenger reentered the house. 

Thus very important information reached Wash- 
ington on the eve of Germantown. 


CHAPTER XV 


A RIDE WITH GENERAL HOWE 

The morning after their night of terror in the Chew 
House found the young ladies still vexed. 

That they should be so insulted by the king’s troops 
nettled all, and Mistress Chew, who could think of 
nothing else, determined to report matters to General 
Howe. 

She consulted with Priscilla and Bess, and the coun- 
cil of war approved her plan. 

Major Andre, who had come to their rescue so gal- 
lantly with the British general’s orders, had departed 
after receiving their thanks, but they feared a repeti- 
tion of the outrage. 

The two marble lions before the door of the man- 
sion showed marks of British temper, for there were 
sword cuts on their heads, and this angered Mistress 
Chew the more. 

They were about to set off on their errand of re- 


i88 


A Ride With General Howe 


monstrance when, upon looking down the road, they 
beheld General Howe and his staff approaching. 

“ The best luck imaginable ! ” said Mistress Chew. 
“ The general we shall have to himself.” 

Thereupon she awaited the officer from the porch 
of the mansion, and when he saw her he drew rein 
and bowed. 

“ Will General Howe be so kind as to alight 
a while ? ” asked the young lady. 

Certainly. General Howe, always willing to bow 
at the shrine of beauty, would come in and see what 
the fair one wanted. 

As he entered the old mansion through its wide 
doors, soon to be riddled with bullets, he doffed his 
plumed chapeau. 

In another moment he caught sight of Priscilla and 
Bess in the hallway and stopped with a furtive glance 
at the mistress of the mansion. 

What did it mean ? Had Mistress Chew set a trap 
for the king’s general ? Oh, no, not at all. 

“ This is my friend, Mistress Beverley,” she said as 
Priscilla courtesied. 


A Ride With General Howe 


189 


General Howe remembered, for had she not caused 
a revocation of a certain order of his, so far as her 
personal safety went? He had not forgotten the in- 
cident and saying that he believed he had met the 
young lady before, he turned, for Mistress Chew was 
introducing Bess. 

The fair niece of the Quaker-Tory felt her cheeks 
flush for she knew that General Howe would recog- 
nize the name as he did. 

“ Mistress Ferguson ! ” exclaimed Howe. “ Ah, the 
niece of my friend Thomas.” 

Bess dropped her gaze to the floor. 

“ General Howe,” proceeded Mistress Chew, “ we 
have passed through a very unpleasant experience. 
We were forced to give our parlors over to a lot of 
your officers who not only made merry in the house 
last night, but who insulted me and my guests.” 

“ But, my dear Mistress Chew, I ordered them 
hence.” 

“ True, but does that end the matter ? When may 
we not expect another visit from the same officers ? 
Major Andre came with your order in the nick of 


190 


A Ride With General Howe 


time, 'tis true, but we would like to have the entire 
freedom of the house.” 

General Howe would see that the scenes of the past 
night were not repeated in Chew House. 

He did not approve of such roystering, though he 
could not be expected to control his officers at all 
times. 

They liked wine and women and as America 
seemed full of fair girls he thought his soldiers should 
be excused some of their excesses. 

The Britisher was very courteous and was about to 
depart when Mistress Chew proposed that they have 
a little wine. 

Now if there was any person who liked a good bot- 
tle better than this, same General Howe he would 
have been hard to find. 

He was never known to refuse a glass of wine, and 
at times he knew how to tarry too long at the cup. 

Therefore, when Mistress Chew spoke of wine — and 
he knew what the cellars of the old mansion held — he 
suddenly remembered that his morning business was 
not so urgent. 


A Ride With General Howe 


191 


Mistress Chew called some servants and bade one 
bring wine from the cellar, while others were told to 
prepare a table in the best room. 

In less than ten minutes General Howe and his 
chief of staff, a handsome young officer named 
McDonald, were seated at the table with the bright 
eyes of the vivacious young ladies upon them. 

The three girls were chatty and full of wit. 

“ When shall we hear of another engagement ? ” 
asked Mistress Chew as Howe filled his sixth 
glass. 

“ That is a question I cannot answer." 

“ You do not think that Washington will assume 
the offensive ? " 

“ He is not expected to do anything of the kind. I 
learn from our scouts that he has advanced to Skip- 
pack's Creek, which is about sixteen miles from here, 
but he is not likely to come closer." 

“ You outnumber him, do you not, General Howe ? " 
asked Priscilla. 

“ Indeed we do, my dear," was the reply. “ We 
have about eighteen thousand men well posted. I 


1 9 2 


A Ride With General Howe 


shall be pleased some time to escort you girls through 
our lines just to show you what a splendid army I 
have the honor to command/’ 

“ That would be enjoyable ! ” cried the fair rebel of 
Boston. “ But you must not forget, General Howe, 
that I am accounted a rebel at heart.” 

“ I am not insensible to such reports,” was the 
quick rejoinder. “ But I am not afraid to show you 
the best army on the continent. It might be wise in 
you after reviewing our forces to make a report to 
your friends in the American camp.” 

“ Why could not General Howe escort us through 
his army to-day ? ” 

The general smiled. 

“ You are not ready, young misses,” said he. “ It 
will take you some time to make up your toilette and 
secure your mounts.” 

“ Not so long as you think,” put in Mistress Chew. 
“We have but a few touches for the boudoir, and as 
for the horses, they are now in the stables.” 

“ Then I see no objection to enjoying the pleasure 
of your company,” bowed the British general. 


A Ride With General Howe 


*93 


The girls rose from the table and went at once to 
their apartments. 

A few minutes later they reappeared arrayed for a 
ride and the horses were brought round by the servants. 

The morning was crispy and bright. 

The fatal mist which was soon to follow it had not 
risen for its deadly purpose, and as the little company 
moved off with General Howe in the midst of his fair 
guests he smiled and felt the wine he had taken. 

He took them first through the camp of the German 
chasseurs, commenting on their heavy uniform and 
their method of fighting, then he turned to the camp 
of the Queen’s American Rangers, whose dark green 
clothes, with golden ornaments, rendered them con- 
spicuous. 

These were the men the Americans hated so cor- 
dially. 

They were Tories who had enlisted in the king’s 
army and who were the bitterest foes the patriots had. 

“ The Rangers fight well, do they not ? ” asked 
Mistress Ferguson, as they rode out of the camp of 
this detachment. 


i 9 4 


A Ride With General Howe 


“We have no reason to complain of them. They 
fight well under our trained officers.” 

“ And why should they not fight, General Howe ? ” 
playfully put in Priscilla, “ since they do so with a 
rope round their' necks ? ” 

“ That is true in a manner, Mistress Beverley. I 
am aware that General Wayne hates them so that he 
threatens to hang all who fall into his hands.” 

“ That must be an exaggerated report of some 
remark by General Wayne, for he is a soldier above 
all things and will treat his prisoners as they deserve 
notwithstanding the affray at Paoli.” 

A slight flush came to the cheeks of the British 
general at this, for already the midnight massacre at 
Paoli was known as a stain on the British arms. 

As the little party rode along Priscilla and Bess 
took particular notice of the different camps, the 
number of men, the positions of the cannon — in fact 
of everything. 

The glittering staff riding behind the little party 
talked glibly about the situation and some of their 
remarks could not help falling upon the girls’ ears. 


A Ride With General Howe 


*9 5 


“ I don’t see why we can’t have another tussle with 
these ragamuffins,” said one of the staff. “ We gave 
them such a good dressing on the Brandywine that we 
ought to push on and end the war right here. They 
won’t fight only when cornered ” 

The speaker stopped suddenly for Priscilla had 
turned and singled him out. 

Her patriotism surged to her lips and with a glance 
at General Howe she said : 

“ It seems to me, sir, that the rebels fought pretty 
well at Bunker Hill, from the red spots on the grass 
after the battle.” 

The staff officer crimsoned. 

“ I — really, miss,” he stammered, “ I did not think 
you overheard my remark.” 

“ I could not help overhearing it since it was spoken 
in a loud tone. General Howe here knows that he is 
entertaining a Boston girl and he has said that the air 
up there is ladened with rebellion.” 

The general laughed. 

A few rods further on the camp of the fine-looking 
men of the Fortieth Foot was reached. 


196 A Ride With General Howe 


Their brilliantly scarlet uniforms fairly shone in the 
rays of the October sun and drew forth exclamations 
of admiration from the girls. 

“ These are our fighting men/’ said General Howe 
proudly, as he waved his hand toward a group of tall 
privates. “ These are the men who held the hill at 
White Plains.” 

“ I have heard of them,” quoth Priscilla. 

“ They held the hill against every assault, and 
Washington did his best to dislodge them.” 

“ Isn’t this the regiment whose men were finally 
driven off the hill by the Boys of Liberty ? ” 

General Howe looked chagrined. 

“ I believe the Fortieth did move back a trifle when 
the young fellows came against them. But it was 
only for a moment. That dash was a forlorn hope 
and a useless sacrifice ordered, so I am told, by 
Wayne. However, wherever the Fortieth fights it is 
sure to give a good account of itself.” 

An hour passed before General Howe announced 
that he could show his fair friends no more. 

41 You know now what we have,” he said, address- 


A Ride With General Howe 


l 97 


ing Priscilla as he reined in his handsome sorrel. 
“ You are at liberty, Mistress Beverley, to acquaint 
your friends with what you have seen.” 

“ And what if I should take General Howe at his 
word ? ” 

“No displeasure will result. I have shown you the 
flower of the king’s army in North America and you 
have had an opportunity to inspect it.” 

“ You have a fine army, General Howe. It is a 
pity that such handsome men should be brought 
across the sea to perish on strange battle-fields.” 

“ The fortunes of war, Mistress Beverley. We are 
soldiers and, as such, know only obedience. That is 
our duty. We serve the king first, our God next.” 

The little party rode back some distance, escorted 
by General Howe, who, at a certain point, stopped 
and said that he would proceed in another direction. 

This left the girls at liberty to ride the remainder 
of the distance alone. 

Partings were exchanged, the British general lifting 
his hat as he bade them good-bye, and in another 
moment the glittering band was gone. 


198 A Ride With General Howe 


“ It is a formidable army/’ remarked Bess after a 
moment’s silence. 

44 Eighteen thousand well-drilled and well-fed men 
to meet half their number of shoeless, ragged, half- 
starved soldiers ! ” 

44 But men filled with love for a just cause,” said 
Mistress Chew. “ I trust the drums of this 4 rabble/ 
as they call Washington’s army, will beat soon for Brit- 
ish ears.” 

44 They will ! ” cried Priscilla. 44 Their music will not 
be long delayed, I am sure. And when they beat and 
the 4 rabble ’ rush upon this well-appointed camp, as I 
believe they will, there will be some bloody work. 
General Howe is a generous soul, secure in the belief 
of invincibility, but let Wayne’s Legion, or Pulaski’s 
troopers, dash into his midst and British drums will 
beat the death knell of his bravest men.” 

44 Ah, here we are ! ” exclaimed Bess at this juncture. 
44 1 have enjoyed the ride very much, thanks to General 
Howe.” 

The old house with its marble lions had been reached 
and the girls dismounted at the block. 


A Ride With General Howe 


l 99 


The horses were taken to the stables to be groomed 
and the fair trio entered the house. 

On the table they found a folded note and when 
they opened it they found it to be an apology from the 
officers v^ho had occupied the house the previous 
night. 

“ None is needed ! ” cried Mistress Chew, as she tore 
the note into fragments which she scattered over the 


CHAPTER XVI 


THE NIGHT MARCH 

Meantime there was increased activity in the patriot 
camp. 

Washington was determined to give the enemy bat- 
tle for Philadelphia. 

His army consisted of about twelve thousand men, 
many of whom were militia or state troops who could 
not be depended upon. He knew this and had given 
them places which suited them. 

It was the night of the 3d of October, 1777. 

The American camp along Skippack’s Creek showed 
signs of animation. 

Sixteen miles lay between Washington and the 
enemy, sixteen miles over hills and dales, along ravines 
and rivulets under the stars, with spies swarming the 
country, for the country folk were usually against the 
cause, having accepted the forgiveness of the king. 

Little farms were everywhere with their great old- 
fashioned barns and stone houses. 


The Night March 


201 


Fields of whitened buckwheat interspersed the 
landscape, and everywhere the people seemed con- 
tented, though hostile armies lay within striking dis- 
tance of one another. 

Since the council of war which we have witnessed 
Washington had called a final one. 

At this one all the generals were present and the 
chieftain’s plans were discussed by every officer. 

There was no dissenting voice. 

All were for battle. 

The cool-headed Knox, the dashing Pulaski and the 
impetuous Wayne had voted to fight, and Washing- 
ton, eager to throw himself upon the enemy at Ger- 
mantown, heard the decision with a smile. 

The march was to be taken up during the night, for 
it was the intention of the commander-in-chief to sur- 
prise the enemy at dawn and give them another 
trouncing after the manner of Trenton. 

This time he would not have only Hessians to 
fight. 

Washington knew that Howe's army consisted for 
the most part of trained British soldiers, that these men 


202 


The Night March 


knew nothing but duty to their monarch, and that 
under the eyes of their generals they would fight like 
tigers in scarlet. 

Yet at times Washington doubted if he would be 
able to reach Chestnut Hill from which the dash would 
be made into the British camp. 

He knew that Howe would be on the alert, for the 
Trenton surprise was a lesson which the British com- 
mander had not forgotten. It had taught all that 
Washington was sleepless and aggressive, and that they 
would have to be ready for him at all times. 

The Boys of Liberty found themselves drawn up 
on the right of the Legion. 

The night was bright and starlit. 

The drums had beaten at last for Germantown, and 
the long roll echoing up and down the defiles of Skip- 
pack had died away in the far distance. 

Mad Anthony had ridden down his line seeing that 
everything was ready. 

Half muffled in his cloak, which in a moment of 
enthusiasm he threw over his shoulder, he looked 
with an eagle eye upon his “ boys/' as he called his 


The Night March 


203 


soldiers, and more than once told them to “ Remem- 
ber Paoli.” 

Just as if a single one of the whole lot could for- 
get it ! 

Captain Pierce and Frank stood together, waiting 
for the command to march. 

Not far away, with a look of eagerness on his face, 
stood the Long Island youth, Tom Hapgood. 

Perhaps he thought of the chasseur whom he had 
left at the roadside under the stars. 

Near him was Ben Markley, who had made his 
escape from Philadelphia, and in the ranks of the 
company were several new recruits — the members of 
the True Hearts of Liberty. 

At last a command rang out loud and clear. 

“ Forward ! ” 

And Pulaski, hearing it from the lips of Wash- 
ington, turned to his gallants and said in his broken 
tongue : 

“ Forvarts, brudern ! ” 

The steeds pricked up their ears, the men shifted 
their muskets, glanced down — many of them — at their 


204 


The Night March 


shoeless feet and sprang away with a soldier’s eager- 
ness. 

What if they knew that it would be the last march 
for many ? 

What if they felt — some of them, at least — that 
they had kissed their wives and little ones for the last 
time ? 

This did not daunt them. 

It was all for the sacred cause of Liberty, and if 
they fell they knew that others would step into their 
places and carry on the fight. 

The drums kept time for some distance down the 
country road. 

The farmers heard the tramp and looked out of 
their houses to see something dark winding under- 
neath the stars. 

They did not know what it was till they tried to 
investigate, when they were seized by the watchful 
Americans, bound and carried along, for Washington 
was not going to take any chances. 

“We shall strike them by daylight,” whispered 
Frank to Benjamin as they trudged along. 


The Night March 


205 


“ By daylight, I hope," was the answer. “We shall 
give them another lesson in strategy. Howe does not 
suspect. Indeed, he laughs at Washington’s ‘ raga- 
muffins/ but these same ragamuffins are liable to 
sleep in his camp to-morrow night.” 

On, on moved the ghostly host. 

Washington, riding on his white horse, pushed 
from command to command and said something 
encouraging to all. 

He noticed the shoeless feet of hundreds, noticed 
them with a sigh, but his face glowed with coming 
victory, and perhaps he saw in the future the final 
victory and the long rest from battle. 

The stars went down the courses of the sky. 

Light winds fanned the cheeks of the marching 
men, who kept as close together as possible, and now 
and then a bird frightened from her nest flew scream- 
ing in front of the files. 

But few words were spoken. 

It was not such a march as on the wild winter 
night when the same army fought the snow and sleet 
of the Jerseys to fall upon Rail, at Trenton. 


2c6 


The Night March 


Now the night was an autumn one, and the odors 
of the fields were in the nostrils of all, instead of the 
cutting sleet. 

At last the army halted. 

“ What is it ? ” asked Benjamin of Captain Lowry. 

“ We may be near the pickets.” 

Presently an officer came riding back along the 
line. 

“ It is Mad Anthony himself,” said Frank. 

Wayne pulled rein in front of the Boys of Liberty. 

" The picket is just ahead — at a house,” said he as 
he leaned from his saddle. “ He must be silenced. I 
want five men from this command to undertake the 
work.” 

The Boys of Liberty were eager to go, but the voice 
of Wayne continued: 

“ Captains Lowry and Pierce with Tom Hapgood 
and two others will go. Be cautious. No shooting, 
understand.” 

Benjamin saluted. 

He selected two other members of the company and 
followed Wayne back over the road. 


The Night March 


207 


“ It is at the House down there." 

“ Ah! the Morton House," said Benjamin. 

“ Yes. The picket may be on the porch. There may 
be more than one man. Be careful, extremely so. 
Everything depends on caution. A mistake will not 
only precipitate matters, but will lose us everything." 

“ We will do our duty." 

Mad Anthony rode back and the five Boys of 
Liberty were left to themselves. 

“ You must curb your temper," said Frank, laying 
his hand upon Tom’s shoulder. “ You must not let 
your rage get the better of you. This is for the army. 
Now, forward ! " 

The Morton House, which was a large stone affair 
after the manner of the day, stood a short distance 
from the road, traversed by the army of surprise. 

It was supposed to be a picket post of the enemy 
and, as such, was a dangerous thing. 

The five young soldiers led by Benjamin crept 
cautiously forward until they saw the old mansion 
ioom between them and the stars. 

Then they halted. 


2o8 


The Night March 


At first the very stillness of death seemed to pervade 
the vicinity, but all at once they heard a laugh. 

It seemed to come from the porch of the Morton 
House. 

The picket was there ! 

The boys crept through the shrubbery in the 
front yard and, hugging the ground, listened with all 
ears. 

They were not long discovering that the porch 
sheltered two soldiers, nor that the owner of the house, 
upon retiring, had placed a table on the porch. 

This table he had nearly covered with bottles of wine 
for the picket. 

It was a feast for the poor pickets and they did not 
hesitate to make the most of it before the “ grand 
relief" should come round. 

It was fun for the young soldiers to hear the 
laughter and jests of the red-coated wine-bibbers. 

“ It’s an easier job than we bargained for,” said 
Tom. “ We can walk right up to them and ” 

“ Don’t expect such an easy victory,” broke in Frank. 
“ The sight of an enemy will sober those fellows in a 


The Night March 


209 


moment and we shall have our hands full though we 
outnumber them.” 

“ I can’t believe it.” 

“ Wait and see.” 

The boys waited a while longer and then crept nearer. 

They could now see the British on the porch and 
there were but two of them. 

But they were giants in scarlet, and their muskets 
rested in the hollows of their arms, while they drank 
wine and toasted everybody from the king to their 
friend, the corporal. 

“ Ready ! ” whispered Benjamin. “ Frank, you and 
Tom will take the fellow on the right. We will look 
after his friend.” 

“ Here’s to the king ! ” roared out the right hand 
man at this moment. 

“ We drink it standing ” 

“ Charge ! ” shouted Benjamin. 

The Boys of Liberty dashed forward and leaped 
upon the porch. 

“ The rebels ! ” cried the toast maker, as he dropped 
his glass and snatched up his musket. 


210 


The Night March 


“ Down with the British ! ” shouted Tom Hapgood 
as he threw himself upon the soldier in front of him. 

The struggle was a desperate one. 

The men were not only giants in figure but they 
were veritable Samsons. 

The table and glasses were overturned and the floor 
of the porch became in a moment a crimson sea. 

Wine flowed in every direction as the bottles were 
broken and the sounds of the struggle reached every 
corner of the house. 

It was all the Boys of Liberty could do to secure 
their enemies despite the fact that the wine had gone 
to their heads. 

Frank had to strike his man several hard blows 
upon the head and Tom tried in vain to throttle him 
into silence. 

The owner of the house hearing the scuffle ran to 
the porch, but some one threw him back into the hall 
and shut the door in his face. 

Several times one of the giants was nearly free, but 
the importance of their capture rendered the Boys of 
Liberty determined and at last the picket was secured. 


The Night March 


211 


“ What’s the matter ? ” asked one of the prisoners. 
“We can't walk to Skippack Creek.” 

Frank Lowry smiled. 

“ You will remain here till the army comes up.” 

“ The — army ? Great Caesar ! you are joking with 
us.” 

“ Never more serious in my life. Where’s the next 
picket ? ” 

“ We’re the last one. Just ahead is Germantown.” 

A few minutes later the head of the army came up, 
and Wayne took possession of the astonished captives. 

A streak of morning lay in the east and the sky in 
that direction began to redden. 

Washington now rode forward and looked at the 
rise in front of them. 

It was Chestnut Hill, and from there the attack 
would be made. 

Knox hurried up with the artillery. 

Pulaski’s troopers twisted their mustaches and loos- 
ened their swords in their scabbards; Wayne threw off 
his cloak so as to give free swing to his massive arms 
and looked proudly down the line of the Legion. 


212 


The Night March 


Every man was on the alert. Nothing stood 
between them and the British army but a few rods of 
road. 

A brief silence followed the halt in sight of the hill 
and then out upon the morning air rang the voice of 
Washington : 

“ Forward ! Let every man do his duty ! ” 


CHAPTER XVII 


GERMANTOWN 

The fancied security of the British at Germantown 
was something wonderful. 

With his eighteen thousand men Lord Howe lay at 
ease thinking little of an attack, and when the first 
guns opened the battle he could hardly believe that 
the Continentals were upon him. 

Even then he did not want to believe it, but when 
he saw the charging columns in buff and blue led by 
Wayne and Sullivan he drew back in genuine alarm. 

Surely the lion had broken through the net, the 
dogs of war again had slipped their leash and the air 
rang with battle. 

Germantown was then a straggling street with the 
British tents on either side. 

At one end, was Mount Airy and further down 
toward the other stood the Chew House where dwelt 
Mistress Peggy Chew, the young lady whom we have 
already introduced to the reader. 


214 


Germantown 


The onslaught of the Americans was something 
terrific. 

They swept everything before them. 

The enemy, struck in the front and flank, drew 
back and then stood their ground. 

They fired straight into the faces of their foes, but 
the impetuous provincials did not stop for their resist- 
ance but came on and on. 

“ Forward ! ” rang out the voice of Wayne. " Re- 
member Paoli ! Down with the British ! ” 

It was almost hand to hand in some places. 

Men fell like wheat before the fire of the 
rebels. 

From the steps of the Billmeyer house Washington 
directed the battle, his face calm in every danger and 
his mind upon the one thing which he had promised 
himself — the defeat of the foe. 

The Boys of Liberty, led by Captain Pierce, with 
Frank at his side, came down the street under the 
eyes of Mad Anthony, with every nerve at tension 
and flushed cheeks. 

Now they would halt a moment while there poured 


Germantown 


21J 


a destructive fire straight into the scarlet ranks and 
then, stopping to reload, would dash on again. 

“ Charge ! ” 

It was again the clarion voice of Mad Anthony. 

Muskets were lowered and the bayonet was used. 

A panic seemed to take possession of the redcoats. 

They saw before them a whirlwind of destruction 
and death. 

Their officers, conspicuous in their uniforms, tried 
to rally them, but the men went on pell-mell down 
the street followed by the Americans till the battle 
seemed won. 

Howe himself was carried away in the general 
rout. 

There seemed now nothing but victory in the front. 

Wayne was pressing ahead of the Chew House. 

He had forced the enemy beyond it when suddenly 
from every window blazed a furnace of flame. 

Colonel Musgrave, one of the best officers in the 
British army, had thrown his regiment into the old 
stone mansion and every loophole had been manned. 

Men in buff and blue pitched in every direction. 


216 


Germantown 


“ On ! on ! ” cried Mad Anthony, who seemed the 
very incarnation of battle. “ Let the Chew House go. 
Press the enemy to final defeat ! ” 

But Knox, who came up at that moment, shook his 
head. 

He was the cool head of the army. 

“We cannot leave a foe like this in our rear/' he 
said. “ The Chew House must be taken first.” 

Wayne let out an oath and turned to Washington. 

The commander-in-chief sustained Knox and the 
Americans came back to capture the enemy in the 
stone fort. 

“ Why do we not push on ? ” cried Captain Pierce. 
“ In another half hour the battle will be won.” 

Ah ! indeed it would have been but for the fatal 
blunder of the Chew House fight. 

A part of the field was already enveloped in a 
heavy fog which gave few promises of lifting soon. 

One American regiment clashed into another and 
each poured a volley of death into the faces of friends 
instead of foes. 

Washington saw this and his lofty brow clouded. 


Germantown 


217 


In vain did the officers of the two commands try to 
avoid the blunder, but the volleys crashed till the 
ground lay thick with patriots. 

Cannon-balls plunged through the walls of houses 
dealing death in every direction, while fire flashed 
from every window of the Chew House. 

Colonel Musgrave had resolved to hold the house 
or perish in the attempt. 

Time and again the Americans rushed upon the 
house, but were driven back. 

Lieutenant Smith advanced with a flag of truce, 
but a concealed enemy shot him down, and another 
brave spirit who ran to the very windows for the pur- 
pose of setting fire to the structure shared the same 
fate. 

At times the house itself was enveloped in a whirl- 
ing sheet of flame and the roar became deafening. 

Washington saw the fog settling down deeper and 
darker than ever and he must have prayed for a clear 
day. 

“ Form ! form ! ” cried Mad Anthony. “ We must 


take the house ! 


2 l8 


Germantown 


The brave Continentals lined up with depleted ranks 
and looked at the fort. 

They pressed shoulder to shoulder and shut their 
teeth hard. Many were barefooted, but that made 
little difference. It was a fight for human liberty. 

“ Charge ! ” 

Sword in hand, Wayne led the charge. 

He was a mark for an hundred muskets in the 
windows of the Chew House, and fire flashed into 
his very face. 

“ Forward ! Take the house ! ” 

The Boys of Liberty in the front line bent their 
heads to the storm of lead and pressed almost to the 
riddled doors of the old mansion. 

They seemed on the eve of success, when there 
burst from every loophole a fiery blast of death. 

“ On ! on ! ” shouted Captain Pierce. “ To the 
doors ! Batter them down ! ” 

The Boys pressed forward, though one-half their 
number seemed to have fallen. 

They reached the steps beyond the marble lions. 

Suddenly a face was seen at one of the windows. 


Germantown 


219 


It was not the powder-blackened face of one of the 
defenders. 

“ My God ! ” cried Frank, as he clutched Benja- 
min’s sleeve and pointed at the apparition. “ Look ! 
Benjamin, look ! ’Tis Priscilla ! ” 

Benjamin was too amazed to answer him. 

He, too, had seen the face and recognized it. 

How came it there? Priscilla was thought to be 
in Philadelphia, yet they had had an inkling of her 
intended visit to Peggy Chew. 

" Back ! back ! ” cried the girl at the window. 
“You will all be lost! Back! back! if you value 
your lives ! ” 

Then the face vanished in a cloud of battle smoke, 
and another volley burst into the faces of the young 
Americans. 

The Boys were too astonished to reply to the 
volley, for all had seen Priscilla at the window. 

The volley seemed to finish the Boys of 
Liberty. 

Frank whirled half-way round, and Benjamin turned 


white in another moment. 


220 


Germantown 


“ Forward ! ” again cried Wayne, and just then 
Pulaski’s legion dashed up. 

The fight for possession of the house now became 
more terrible than ever. 

Time and again the Americans charged it, now 
passing beyond the lions and now met with a volley 
of fire before they could reach them. 

The ground seemed covered with the fallen. 

Washington saw all this through the gathering mist 
that mingled with the smoke about Chew’s house. 

“ Once more ! ” 

Wayne was reluctant to give it up. 

The British were defeated but for the old house 
and the fog. 

He raged like a lion in battle. 

Bearing a charmed life, he was everywhere, and 
his hat rose above his head as he cheered his fol- 
lowers on. m 

“ We can’t take it ! ” said Benjamin. “ Half of the 
Boys are dead, and ” 

Just then some one sprang to his side and shouted 
in his ear : 


Germantown 


221 


“ We can take it from the rear ! There seems to 
be no one at the windows there.” 

The speaker was Tom Hapgood. 

The face of the young Long Islander was black 
with powder stains, and his hat was gone. 

“ Come ! ” he cried. “ To the rear of the house ! 
We can batter down the doors there and win the day/ 

Benjamin turned and followed. 

The Boys of Liberty were at his heels, and in an- 
other moment they had reached the garden behind 
the house. 

“ Forward ! ” shouted Captain Pierce. “ For liberty 
and justice ! For freedom in North America ! ” 

They dashed at the old house from the garden. 

But all at once windows flew open, and from each a 
simoon of fire struck them full in their faces. 

Fortunately the British overshot their mark, and in 
another second the young soldiers were pounding at 
the doors. 

But it was not to be. 

They were forced to give up the attack. 

It was a resistance which no human being could defeat. 


222 


Germantown 


Captain Benjamin, bleeding from two wounds, broke 
his sword on the door, as half a dozen bullets sped 
past his face, and fell back with his heroes. 

In another second all knew that Cornwallis had 
come up with his fresh troops, and these were hurled 
in solid masses against the Americans. 

Despite all this, however, the patriots stood their 
ground with the tenacity of tigers and fell slowly back, 
fighting over every inch of ground. 

Some of Washington’s men had failed him. 

They had failed to perform the duties given them 
by the commander-in-chief, and the day was lost. 

Slowly the provincials withdrew, but at the very last 
Wayne, who could not believe that the day was lost, 
ordered a last charge upon the Chew House, and the 
men tightened their belts and responded with a 
shout. 

Once more they rushed into the jaws of death. 

The color bearers picked up their flags and darted 
through the rain of iron and lead. 

Once more fire blazed from every window, and again 
the gallant ranks recoiled. 


Germantown 


223 


“ Back ! back ! for heaven’s sake ! ” came from the 
old house, and the two young captains heard. 

Thank heaven, Priscilla was alive ! She had escaped 
death in the house and was begging her friends to 
save themselves. 

Back from the Chew House fell the patriots. 

They had to reform in an open place to resist the 
charge of Cornwallis’ men. 

Down the street came the redcoats. 

They met a solid line of buff and blue, and saw be- 
fore them the tried veterans of Washington. 

“ Fire ! ” roared a colonel as the ranks seemed to 
meet and the volley that met the enemy blocked the 
street with redcoats. 

The red column reeled. 

Again the volley was poured into the same place, 
more went down, officers tumbled over privates, and 
friend and foe were mingled together in horrid 
death. 

The fog came on thicker and thicker. 

It seemed to hide everything in sight. It enveloped 
the Americans and lost for them the battle. 


224 


Germantown 


Washington turned from the steps of Billmeyer’s 
house with blanched face. 

He knew he had failed — failed just when victory 
was in his grasp ; failed when he was in the very act 
of duplicating the glory of Trenton. 

He met Wayne blackened with powder and held out 
his hand. 

“ It is lost ! ” 

Wayne in reply turned and looked at the line that 
still resisted the foe, and his lips came together. 

" Shall I charge again ? ” asked Mad Anthony. 
11 You have but to say the word ” 

“ No/' broke in Washington. “ We must bide our 
time again.” 

That was all. 

The Americans fell back, resisting so stubbornly that 
the enemy durst not follow. 

They had punished the eighteen thousand so terribly 
that they could not strike a responsive blow. The fog 
lifted a little and Washington screened his eyes from 
the awful sight. Then he mounted his white horse 
and rode away at the head of his heroes. 


CHAPTER XVIII 


IN chew’s house 

Let us see what transpired within the walls of the 
Chew House during the battle. 

The three young girls cooped up in the old man- 
sion had been aroused at daybreak by the first shots 
of Germantown. 

They dressed as hastily as possible and looked out 
of the doors. 

They saw a lot of horsemen dashing hither and 
thither, saw men wheeling into the street, stripped 
for battle, and wondered what it all meant. 

Had Washington really marched upon Howe? 
Had the lion of liberty turned the tables on the foe 
once more and was Trenton and Princeton to be du- 
plicated ? 

Soon came more shots, then a furious volley and 
redcoats came plunging back, shouting to their com- 
rades that the enemy was upon them. 


226 


In Chew’s House 


Mistress Peggy stood in the door while her cheeks 
flushed and her eyes grew animated. 

Priscilla and Bess looked over her shoulders and as 
the British streamed down the street they caught 
sight of the girls and shouted to them to close the 
doors. 

But something seemed to hold them on the thresh- 
old and despite the ping, ping of musket balls, they 
held their post. 

Suddenly there dashed up the lawn a handsome 
officer whom the young ladies recognized as Lieu- 
tenant Cummings, of banquet fame. 

“ Go in, young ladies ! ” he shouted. “ It is going 
to be hot here in a few moments.” 

In another half second the young lieutenant reeled 
in his saddle and pitched clear over his horse’s neck, 
falling at full length on the grass. 

With a cry Mistress Bess sprang from the house 
and reached his side. 

She lifted the young officer’s head, but saw that all 
was over. 

In another instant the whole road was full of red- 


In Chew's House 


22 7 


coats who had faced about and were firing at the 
enemy. 

On, on came Wayne and Sullivan. 

For a moment the Quaker-Tory’s niece stood un- 
decided, but as the bullets began to sing their death 
song about her, she turned and ran for the mansion. 

Mistress Peggy shut the heavy door, and was 
about to batten it, when Colonel Musgrave reached it. 

His men were at his back. 

They threw themselves against the portal and, as 
it opened, the girls saw the house fill with the king’s 
men. 

“ Up-stairs, young ladies ! ” cried Musgrave. “ This 
house is to be defended." 

Man after man poured inside till every available 
space was filled and the British took position at the 
windows. 

The three girls hastened to the second story, but 
the redcoats followed them and broke in the windows 
with their muskets. Resistance was depicted on 
every face, and for a few moments the girls watched 
the soldiers speechless and frightened. 


228 


In Chew’s House 


They were now in the largest room on the second 
floor, a room that fronted the lawn, where the statues 
were. 

Their faces were blanched and they withdrew to the 
rear part of the room while the soldiers stood at the 
windows with ready muskets. 

From the cursings of the soldiers they could learn 
that the British were falling back, and Musgrave 
called out to the men to stand firm. 

“ Fight to the last ! ” he exclaimed. “ We hold the 
key to victory in this house. It cannot be taken. 
We must die if need be where we are. Stand by the 
cause of the king, men ! Don’t miss a shot, but pour 
it into the breasts of the rebels ! ” 

The determined men needed no such words to 
make them do their duty. 

The three girls saw all this, for as yet death had 
not visited the interior of the house, but the time 
was near at hand when it was to be transformed into 
a shambles. 

Presently they heard something crash through the 
house and a lot of plastering fell over them like rain. 


In Chew’s House 


229 


They looked at one another and were silent till 
Priscilla spoke. 

“ A cannon-ball," she said with the semblance of a 
smile on her face. 

In another second two red-coated soldiers lurched 
back from one of the windows and fell to the floor. 

Priscilla uttered a cry. 

One of the men lay at her feet, his youngish face 
upturned to her and upon it was the gathering shade 
of death. 

The sash was broken, pieces of it flew across the 
room and the bullets of the Americans tore through 
the ceiling. 

Those at the windows replied to the volley and the 
room for a moment was filled with stifling smoke. 

The British in the house shouted to one another, 

• • 

bidding all stand firm. 

Those on the lower floor replied to the voices of 
their comrades above and the din of battle increased. 

“ What was that ? ” whispered Mistress Chew to her 
companions as a terrible noise reverberated through- 
out the mansion. 


230 


In Chew’s House 


It seemed as though half a dozen cannon-balls had 
torn through the mansion simultaneously. 

She darted from. the room, Priscilla and Bess after 
her. 

“ To the stair ! ” cried Peggy Chew. 

They swept down the corridor to the head of 
the stair, but there the girls drew back with 
horror. 

Half a dozen men lay on the steps bathed in their 
own blood. 

“ The room is the safer place," said Mistress Chew, 
and back they went. 

The fight outside was now raging with redoubled 
fury. 

The Americans were devoting their energies 
toward the reduction of the mansion and were assault- 
ing it with all their fury. 

“ Would you look a moment ! " cried a young 
sergeant to the girls as he turned to them. 

With one accord they darted to the window. 

The sight that met their gaze almost drove their 
hearts from their bosoms. 


In Chew’s House 


2 3 


They saw the Boys of Liberty rushing upon the 
house backed by the older veterans of the Legion. 

Then it was that Priscilla pushed the nearest soldier 
aside and warned her friends of their danger. 

She was caught round the waist and thrown back 
across the room. 

At tlie same time a volley came from the patriots 
and the man who had seized her spun round and 
tottered against the wall. 

From that time on the battle raged with undimin- 
ished fury. 

The room would be filled with smoke one moment 
and the next it would drift away revealing the deter- 
mined defenders of the old mansion. 

Men fell back from the windows at every volley 
from without. 

A young captain ran over to the girls and in a spirit 
of bravado held out his arm showing them where a 
bullet had crashed through the bone. 

“ A Yankee souvenir ! ” he said with a grin ; but a 
moment afterward he fell at their feet, dead ! 

“ Go to the cellar ! ” cried Colonel Musgrave as he 


232 


In Chew’s House 


came up-stairs and found the three friends in the 
room. “ You will share the fate of those soldiers on 
the floor if you remain here.” 

“ The basement is filled with our men firing through 
the windows there,” said a soldier, and Colonel Mus- 
grave smiled. 

“ I forgot,” he said. 

“ Will our friends take the house? ” asked Priscilla 
of her white-faced companions. 

“ I fear not from the spirit of the defenders. 
They seem determined to hold the house at all 
hazard.” 

“ What is this I hear ? ” and Colonel Musgrave ap- 
peared before the three girls. “ They tell me that 
there is a secret powder magazine in the house.” 

Mistress Chew seemed to increase in stature. 

“ How is this ? ” repeated the Briton. “ If there is 
buried ammunition in the house we want it, for our 
supply is running out.” 

“Yes,” cried another officer running up. “The 
powder ! quick ! ” 

Peggy Chew did not speak. 


In Chew’s House 


233 


“ You can’t hide it from us. The king’s men need 
it. The powder ! Mistress Chew." 

“ There is no powder in the house." 

“ But the magazine ? " 

“ I have just told you there is no powder in the 
house." 

“ But one of your servants has just informed me to 
the contrary. Come, where is the powder ? 

“ Show me the servant." 

“ He ran from the house a while ago." 

“ What was he like ? " 

“ Never mind that. We want the powder that is in 
the mansion." 

“ Colonel Musgrave, is not the word of a lady some- 
thing in the eyes of a British soldier ? " 

“ It is under all circumstances, but this is war, Mis- 
tress Chew, and we must have the powder." 

Looking him firmly in the face, Mistress Peggy 
said coolly : 

“ There is no powder in the house." 

“ Will you swear it ? " 


“ Yes." 


234 


In Chew’s House 


The young girl was lifting her hand when Colonel 
Musgrave pressed it downward. 

“ I believe you,” he said, and turned away. 

Then came another fierce attack and the men at the 
windows fired with precision. 

They had grown into engines of destruction and 
were fighting with a tenacity of purpose worthy of a 
better cause. 

The room had now become a shambles. 

Men lay on the floor, on the stairs, and in the 
rooms below. 

Their comrades pulled them from the windows and 
took their places without a word. 

“ They’re in our rear ! ” cried half a dozen 
men at once, and there was a rush for the back 
windows. 

Priscilla was there first and saw the movement we 
have already described. 

The Boys of Liberty were behind the house, but 
she knew that they could not succeed. 

Again she sounded a warning and was pulled back 
by a pair of strong arms. 


In Chew’s House 


2 35 


She was thrown against Mistress Bess and the two 
girls went to the blood-stained floor together. 

They heard the fierce volley before they could rise 
and then saw a young sergeant pitch backward and 
strike the wall with a horrible thud. 

For nearly an hour raged the fight for Chew’s house. 

It was so well defended that even Wayne at last 
saw the futility of longer battling for it and we have 
seen how reluctantly he drew off his gallant Legion. 

The girls could hardly believe that the battle had 
ended. 

They saw the soldiers at the windows wipe their 
weapons and draw their sleeves over their begrimed 
faces. They looked more like demons than men. 

Once Priscilla thought the battle was renewed, for 
a few straggling shots came in at the windows and 
one knocked a lot of plastering into her eyes. 

“ At last ! ” cried Peggy Chew. “ It is over ! ” 

“ Thank God ! ” fervently breathed Bess Ferguson. 

“ We have annihilated the rebels,” shouted a Brit- 
isher as he turned upon the girls. “ The rebellion is 
at an end ! ” 


236 


In Chew’s House 


“ At an end ? " answered Priscilla with a grim 
smile. “ You do not know the men who are fighting 
for liberty." 

“ What, me young hussy ? " he cried as he advanced 
upon her. “ Do you still preach treason with your 
friends flying out yonder ? By my soul ! you’re pretty 
enough to kiss." 

Priscilla’s face flamed indignantly as she drew back 
from the grenadier. 

“ If you dare, sir ! " she exclaimed. 

“ I never take a dare, especially not from a pretty 
rebel. Come, my fair Venus, give me a kiss for the 
victory we have won over the rabble of Washington." 

Priscilla caught up a musket which stood against the 
wall, the barrel of which was still warm, and thrust the 
bayonet into the soldier’s face. 

He drew back with an oath. 

“ If you dare, sir ! " her blazing eyes said louder 
than words. 

She gripped the gun with stern determination and 
the fellow fell back defeated. 

Then the British began to gather up their dead and 


In Chew’s House 


2 37 


wounded and soon afterward the three girls had old 
Chew House to themselves and the battle of German- 
town was over. 

It had cost Washington nearly one thousand brave 
men, and but for the fog and the failure of some of his 
officers — but why speculate ? It was a great fight and 
added to the fame of liberty’s chieftain. 


CHAPTER XIX 


A DASH FOR LIBERTY 

The mist rose slowly from the battle-field of German- 
town. 

Washington, sitting on his white steed on the 
summit of Mount Airy, looked back over the ground 
so nearly won and sighed. Wayne drew rein beside 
him and the hand of the chieftain pointed toward the 
blood-drenched spot. 

“ It was nearly won," said Wayne. 

“ Nearly won ! " echoed Washington. “ We will do 
better next time. You did well — they all did well 
who fought to-day. We cannot expect a victory every 
time." 

With this the champion of liberty gathered up his 
reins, and, with another look, rode from the fatal field. 

The enemy held possession of the ground. 

The redcoats lay everywhere. 

Howe had lost the flower of his army. The Hes- 


A Dash for Liberty 


2 39 


sians were sadly decimated, for they had fought for 
the king with dogged determination. 

He had bought them with a price, and they had 
not deceived him. 

Men came and turned the Chew House into a hos- 
pital, but not for long. 

The three girls, left to themselves at last, saw the 
day wane and night settle slowly over the battle-field. 

Their hearts were sore, for Washington had been 
defeated, but they mourned more for the brave men 
who had fallen in defense of human liberty. 

On the other hand Lieutenant Cummings had fallen, 
and General Huston, to whom Bess promised her 
hand when the king should proclaim the colonies free 
and independent, lay dead on the ground of German- 
town. 

He would never exact the fulfillment of her promise. 

When night came and silence settled round Chew 
House the girls walked over the lawn and saw how it 
had been ruined. 

The marble statues had been broken by cannon-balls 
and the two lions had lost their heads. 


240 


A Dash for Liberty 


The old stone mansion had been defaced, the 
windows broken in, and the eaves cut by musket 
balls. 

The great doors were riddled and almost staggered 
from their hinges. 

As they turned back to the house they saw a 
figure halt in front of it and gaze at the old pile. 

This person wore the uniform of a British officer, 
and, when he stepped back, he heard the voice of 
Peggy Chew behind him. 

“ So you escaped the carnage, major ? " she said. 

It was John Andre. 

“ I escaped," he said, bowing to the girls. “ This has 
been a bloody day. We have lost some excellent 
men and Washington is no better off. I am glad to 
find you ladies unhurt." 

“ We escaped fortunately," said Priscilla. “ We 
were in the house all the time ” 

“ So I have been told," broke in Andre. “ The 
raging gods of battle spared you fair ones." 

“ We are thankful." 

“ But, ladies," he looked more particularly at Bess 


A Dash for Liberty 


241 


and Priscilla, “ I am here on a delicate mission. You 
are to quit Germantown.” 

“ We ? ” exclaimed Mistress Beverley. 

“ Such is the order from General Howe. You shall 
have your choice, either to follow the rebel army or 
to be escorted back to Philadelphia.” 

“ But they are my guests ! ” exclaimed Peggy Chew. 
“ I am not yet tired of their company. General Howe 
does not intend to rob me of my friends, does he ? ” 

“ I am only carrying out his commands,” was the 
reply. 

“ We will choose. What time have we ? ” 

“ An hour, he says.” 

“At the end of an hour, Major Andre, you can 
come for our reply.” 

Major Andre doffed his hat, and withdrew. 

The three girls reentered the old mansion. 

“ This is cruel ! ” cried Mistress Chew as she threw 
her arms around her fair guests. “ General Howe is 
afraid of you.” 

“ He knows our sentiments,” said Priscilla. “ He 
cannot really fear us after he has won a victory.” 


2 4 2 


A Dash for Liberty 


“ He is a strange quantity, is Lord Howe. Perhaps 
he thinks you furnished Washington with some in- 
formation which enabled him to bring about the 
surprise.” 

Both Priscilla and Bess laughed. 

“ Which shall it be, Bess ? ” asked the fair Boston 
rebel. “ Shall it be Washington’s camp or Philadel- 
phia?” 

“ My uncle would hardly receive me with much 
cordiality,” was the response. “ I could go back to 
him and have the victory at Germantown dinned 
into my ears all the time. That would not be pleas- 
ant. I believe I shall elect to cast my fortunes with 
Washington.” 

“ That will exile you from the city and its pleas- 
ures.” 

“ True, but it will remove me to friends. Phila- 
delphia, with its Tories, is almost a king’s strong- 
hold. I suspect I would ever be banned from society 
there, still there would be some satisfaction in going 
back. I could tell them how the ‘ rabble ’ fought at 
Germantown.” 


A Dash for Liberty 


243 


“ That would be something.” 

A few minutes later footsteps were heard at the 
doors, and as they swung open a captain in red, with 
a file of soldiers at his back, stood before the startled 
girls. 

“ What is it now ? ” demanded Peggy Chew. 

“ We are to escort the young ladies, who are your 
guests, from the camp.” 

“ But we have been given an hour to decide whither 
we wish to go.” 

“We cannot help that. We are under orders.” 

“ Orders from whom ? ” 

“ General Howe.” 

“ Then he has changed his mind ? ” 

“ I cannot say.” 

“ But a short time ago he sent Major Andre thither 
with orders different from yours.” 

“ He may have changed his mind. You will get 
ready and go with us, Mistresses Ferguson and 
Beverley.” 

“Where is General Howe?” cried Peggy Chew, 
stamping her little foot indignantly. 


244 


A Dash for Liberty 


“ He has just left for Philadelphia." 

“ This is an outrage ! I shall go with my friends. 
Whither are they to be conducted ? " 

“ To the city." 

“ Why back yonder ? " 

" I must refer you to General Howe." 

There was no alternative but to obey. 

Priscilla and Bess slipped up-stairs, avoiding the 
crimson stains on the steps, and prepared to depart. 
Peggy came after them. 

“ Where are the horses ? " asked Bess Ferguson 
with flashing eyes. 

“ In the stables." 

“ And the servants ? " 

“ I haven't seen one since the battle." 

“ I don’t care to go back to the city to hear the 
taunts of my Tory friends," said the Quaker's niece. 
" I prefer the sighs of the rebel rabble." 

“ And I ! " echoed Priscilla. 

“ Then the horses ! " cried Peggy Chew. “ I will 
remain and brave the wrath of Howe." 

A minute later the three girls glided from the old 


A Dash for Liberty 


245 


house by the back exits and reached the stables, which 
had not been much injured during the fight. 

Mistress Chew found the saddles in the semi-dark- 
ness, and the two riders were soon caparisoned. 

As the horses were led forth Priscilla looked toward 
the road. 

“ There are horses out yonder/’ she said in low 
tones. 

“ A troop of Walbecks, doubtless. They passed the 
house just before sunset.” 

“ If they should hear us ” 

“ Come ! They have not heard us yet,” cried Bess. 
“ We can give these thick-headed foreigners the slip.” 

The two girls were mounted in a jiffy. 

Peggy Chew held up her hand. 

“ You can’t miss the road. You pass over Mount 
Airy and keep the broad highway. You will be in 
the wake of Washington's army all the time.” 

“ Thank you, dear. I trust you will not be subjected 
to any indignities.” 

“ Never fear for me. Peggy Chew will take care of 


herself.” 


246 


A Dash for Liberty 


There was a look and a little laugh as Priscilla and 
Bess gathered up the lines. 

“ Good-night,” said Peggy. 

“ Good-night,” responded the others. 

The next second the horses sprang forward. 

“ Now for Washington's camp ! ” exclaimed Pris- 
cilla to her fair companion. “ We may have to race 
for it, but the Chew horses are of good mettle.” 

As they struck the road just beyond the stables they 
heard voices behind them. 

“ We are in for it ! ” cried Bess. “ It is to be a test 
of mettle ! ” 

Away sprang the Chew horses, and in the road be- 
hind them was seen a glint of helmets, as half a dozen 
burly horsemen pursued. 

The girls caught the rattle of heavy sabres, and then 
the loud voices of those behind them. 

The Walbecks had heard them and suspected. 

Bending over their horses' necks the two fair ones 
gave them the whip and were off again like the 
wind. 

They kept close together, for the road was in fair 


A Dash for Liberty 


247 


view, and in a short time they fancied they had left 
their pursuers far behind. 

But this soon proved to be a delusion. 

Nearer came the chasseurs, and their voices became 
more distinct. 

They were urging their steeds to greater efforts, and 
now and then the girls heard the mad German oaths 
of the king’s dragoons. 

“ My girth has slipped ! ” suddenly cried Bess. “ I 
cannot ride far thus/’ 

Priscilla leaned toward her friend and looked at the 
loosened saddle. 

Then she looked back over her shoulder and caught 
sight of dark figures plunging between her and the 
spot of sky. 

“ They are coming ! ” she cried. “We shall soon 
have the Germans upon us.” 

Bess Ferguson bit her lips in vexation and looked 
at the enemy. 

“ I shall not go back without leaving my mark on 
the leader of the chasseurs ! ” she exclaimed. “ It will 
be humiliation to go back with them.” 


248 


A Dash for Liberty 


“ That it will, but ” 

“ This way ! ” interrupted the Tory’s niece. “ Here 
is a by-road. I can jump the fence with my horse if 
the saddle will hold a moment longer.” 

They darted down a narrower road and the horses 
cleared the stone fence that seemed to bar their 
progress. 

“ Hurrah ! ” shouted Bess in the excitement of the 
moment. “ Now let the king’s dragoons do as 
well!” 

The first rider of the red-coated band came up and 
his horse refused the leap. 

In vain did he give him the spurs and curse his 
refusal to jump. 

Meantime the girls were riding like the wind down 
the frowsy by-road, Bess clinging desperately to the 
swaying saddle, and nearly beside herself with excite- 
ment. 

At last two of the horses cleared the fence and 
came on. 

They were determined to overtake the fair fugitives. 

Past a farmhouse dashed the girls. 


A Dash for Liberty 


249 


Behind them thundered the dragoons, lashing their 
steeds to better efforts and shouting in the excitement 
of the chase. 

“ The pistols ! Now ! It is the critical time/’ said 
Priscilla, looking at the weapon which Mistress Chew 
had placed in her hand on parting. 

Silently the girls, looking over their shoulders, drew 
the pistols and cocked them. 

“ We may not have to use them after all,” said 
Bess. “ Let us wait a moment.” 

The dragoons came on with the same fury. 

They were now shouting at the two girls. 

“ Now ! ” said Mistress Priscilla. “ Let them have 
it hit or miss ! ” 

They turned in their saddles as well as they could 
and let drive into the faces of the foe. 

The reports of the weapons echoed far and 
wide. 

Two horsemen behind them suddenly drew 
rein. 

“ One seems struck ! ” cried Bess. “ On ! on ! 


Priscilla dear ! ” 


250 


A Dash for Liberty 


The girls shouted at the steeds ; they reached a 
turn in the road and their faces blanched. 

They had ridden almost into the midst of a body 
of mounted men who looked like spectres in the 
night ! 


CHAPTER XX 


THE PEACE OF WAR 

To the utter surprise of the girls the ranks opened 
and they dashed through. 

They looked at one another amazed. 

What did it mean ? Who were those mounted 
men that they should let them pass through their 
lines and then close up and face the chasseurs ? 

They soon discovered that they had fallen into the 
company of a squadron of Pulaski’s men who had 
come back toward Germantown upon a reconnoiter- 
ing expedition. 

The mustached men intervened between the young 
misses and the enemy, and the two chasseurs, seeing 
what had happened, turned tail and scampered back, 
followed for some distance by the sabering riders of 
Pulaski. 

When the pursuers returned they gathered round 
Priscilla and Bess and, upon learning who they were, 
offered to escort them to the American army, an offer 


252 


The Peace of War 


which was gratefully accepted, and the broken girth 
was mended, and all turned their faces toward the 
little camp some miles away. 

“ It's a shame that we couldn’t take the Chew 
House ! ” exclaimed a young fellow, who was cleaning 
a gun in the light of a camp-fire. 

“ They were too much for us, Tom. We will do 
better next time.” 

“ Yes, but when will that next time come ? ” 

“ We must wait. Washington will not remain idle 
long. We will soon meet the enemy, and, I trust, 
will see his back though we didn’t effect a great deal 
in that direction to-day.” 

“ I tell you, Captain Benjamin, it was jolly good 
fighting for all that. The way we went at that house 
was a caution, and I’ll venture that they carried a lot 
of redcoats out of it after the battle.” 

“ You may be sure of that, Tom,” was the reply. 
“ I saw more than one fall back from the windows 
during the engagement.” 

“ Got their everlasting discharge, didn't they ? ” 

- Yes.” 


The Peace of War 


253 


" Now, if we could only hear how Mistress Beverley 
fared it would soften the defeat. I saw her face at 
one of the windows, but it was gone in a moment. 
She was cooped up in that house with the soldiers, 
and, with Mistress Chew, must have suffered great 
agony of mind.” 

“ I am anxious on the same score myself,” re- 
sponded Captain Pierce. “ Perchance we will hear 
from her by to-morrow, for she will surely let us 
know how she fared during the fight.” 

“ What’s become of Captain Frank ? ” 

“ He is over at Wayne’s headquarters, whither he 
has been summoned by the general.” 

“ Then he has heard nothing from Priscilla ? ” 

“ Why should he ? ” cried Benjamin with a little 
touch of jealousy in his voice. " She would be as 
likely to communicate with me as any one.” 

“Be you sure of that, Captain Ben?” asked Tom 
with a humorous leer on his face. 

“ I should say so. Why, you look as though you 
doubted my word. I don’t see why you should.” 

“ Oh, well,” laughed Tom, as he turned to the 


254 


The Peace of War 


musket again. “ All's fair in love and war ; but it 
seems to me that the outcome at Germantown wasn’t 
so very fair for us.” 

“ There you go again, harping and crying over 
spilled milk,” exclaimed Captain Pierce. “ We did 
our share, I think. The Boys of Liberty suffered 
greatly in the fight, but we came out of it with the 
proud knowledge that we received the praises of 
Washington himself.” 

“ And I notice that he praises no one just for the 
sake of doing so.” 

“ But, Tom,” and Benjamin looked searchingly at 
the young Long Islander, “ what think you of the 
smiles of Mistress Beverley ? ” 

“ They’re mighty nice, Captain Ben.” 

“ I don’t mean that,” pursued Benjamin. “ I mean 
upon whom, think you, she bestows the better ones.” 

“ Now that puts me in a ticklish place,” and Tom 
leaned back and looked at the young leader of the 
Boys of Liberty. “ I’d rather not give an opinion on 
this — this delicate subject. In the next place, I’m 
not an expert in such matters, for I’m only a rough 


The Peace of War 


2 55 


country boy who used to trap foxes on Long Island, 
and the only girl I ever thought anything of flared 
up on me one morning, because I caught her 
tame fox in the trap, and the animal lost his 
pretty tail. So you see, Captain Ben, I’d rather be 
excused.” 

“ But what if I command you as your captain to 
express an opinion ? ” 

“ Oh, that might be a different thing,” was the 
reply. “ I always obey orders.” 

A smile came to Benjamin’s lips. 

“ Then, as the commander of the Boys of Liberty, 
I command you to give your opinion.” 

Tom looked away and seemed to be collecting his 
thoughts. 

“ Well, if I must say it, Captain Ben — if you will 
have my opinion, which may not amount to much 
after all ” 

“ Oh ! come to the point, Tom,” broke in the im- 
patient young patriot. “ Don't beat round the bush 
till you knock all the leaves off.” 

“ I’ll do my best. Now, as I was saying ” 


The Peace of War 


256 

Just then the tramping of horses was heard and 
Tom sprang up. 

" The foreigners ! ” he cried. “ Pulaski’s troopers 
by my life ! And look yonder, Captain Ben. 
They've got two girls with them ! " 

Benjamin was also upon his feet and, with Tom, 
was gazing with speechless wonder upon the scene 
before him. 

“ ’Tis Priscilla ! ” Tom Hapgood heard him ex- 
claim. “ She has come to camp, and with a 
friend.” 

Benjamin started forward when he saw another 
person disengage himself from among the dragoons. 

He started back with a low, half-articulate cry. 

" It will never do,” he said. “ Captain Lowry must 
always poke himself to the fore ! ” 

He saw Frank assist Priscilla to the ground, while a 
trooper performed the same service for Bess, and 
when Priscilla noticed Benjamin she came forward 
with extended hand. 

“ We’ve had another adventure,” she said as her 
eyes looked merriment. “ We’ve had a race with the 


The Peace of War 


2 57 


king’s dragoons, and, but for these gallants here, we 
should have lost." 

Benjamin swallowed his feelings as well as he 
could, and welcomed Priscilla to the camp of Wash- 
ington. 

The next day Benjamin and Frank escorted the two 
girls around the camp, but first of all they went to the 
headquarters of Washington, where they were received 
by that great man in the kindliest manner, and he 
thanked them for everything they had done for the 
cause of liberty. 

44 1 trust you will not be long absent from Philadel- 
phia," Washington said to Mistress Bess. 44 The 
enemy holds the vantage ground just now, but the 
cause for which we are battling is not lost, and the 
sun, clouded just now, some day will shine forth with 
renewed splendor." 

To this sentiment both young ladies responded in 
fitting words, and Washington smiled again. 

44 Where’s your Mad Anthony ?" queried Bess of 
the boys. 44 I would like to take his hand, after the 
way he fought yesterday." 


258 


The Peace of War 


“ Here he comes now." 

The little group stopped and the hero of German- 
town came up and saluted. 

“ I have just heard of your adventure," cried Mad 
Anthony, as he took the girls’ hands. “ You were 
fortunate in falling into the care of Count Pulaski’s 
men." 

“ We couldn't have raced much farther," responded 
Priscilla, “ for our horses were well blown and 
fagged." 

“ But you must have ridden like the wind, for those 
Walbecks are Centaurs in the saddle." 

Priscilla laughed. 

“ They certainly did try to catch us, general, and 
that they did not was no fault of theirs." 

Wayne turned away after a few more pleasant 
words and Bess Ferguson, looking after him, said with 
enthusiasm : 

“ No wonder you can fight under such a leader. 
He is the very beau ideal of a soldier. He must in- 
spire his men on the battle-field and I saw yesterday 
how he led his men against the Chew House. He 


The Peace of War 


259 


reminded me of some ancient god leading his giants 
to war." 

“ Mad Anthony is a giant/' cried Frank. “ We 
would follow him to the death." 

“ Which I trust you may never be compelled to 
do," responded Priscilla. 

At this Benjamin winced, for, when the fair rebel 
spoke, she looked at Captain Frank. 

The next day, and the next, the two girls were 
guests in Washington’s camp. 

Tom Hapgood made himself agreeable whenever 
he encountered them, and they were charmed with 
the story of adventures he told them. 

Time came when the American army moved toward 
its winter quarters, for the enemy did not seek to 
molest it, and while the war grew fierce by spurts in 
other quarters, Washington saw that he must rest his 
legions of liberty for another campaign. 

By and by Mistress Bess Ferguson went back to 
Philadelphia, where her beauty and vivacity rendered 
her a social favorite, and Priscilla took occasion to re- 
visit her old home in Boston. 


26 o 


The Peace of War 


But she promised that she would soon come forth 
to other portions of the colonies, as she had friends 
whom she declared she would visit despite the war. 

“ Never fear for me," she said to Captain Frank, 
on parting. “ I shall be able to take care of my- 
self. General Howe probably would not exempt me 
from the operations of his field orders again. But 
I may never come in contact with him any more dur- 
ing the war. Oh, yes, Captain Lowry, I think a 
great deal of both of you. Yourself and Benjamin 
I count dear friends of mine, and I am at all times 
pleased to hear of the Boys of Liberty. They fight 
like veterans and your Mad Anthony must be proud 
of them." 

“ Which he is," was the reply, as Frank dropped 
Priscilla’s hand. " I wish you a safe journey back 
to Boston." 

“ I do not expect to go for a few days, and some- 
thing may occur to keep me away." 

The Boys of Liberty recruited their ranks after the 
bloody day at Germantown and followed the fortunes 
of the army. 


The Peace of War 


261 

Mad Anthony complimented them in his general 
orders, saying they were among the best veterans in 
the army, which was high praise indeed, and Frank 
and Benjamin, with Tom Hapgood, who had been 
made a sergeant, felt a flush of pride tingle their 
cheeks. 

The young British captain Montressor fought for 
his king to the close of hostilities and did good serv- 
ice with his sword. 

What if Washington failed at Germantown ? 

He had inflicted a stunning blow upon the enemy 
and had taught him a lesson he greatly needed. 
Howe said after the battle that he believed Washing- 
ton never slept. 

The fight for the Chew House was the turning 
point of the engagement, and it would have been suc- 
cessful, but for circumstances over which the Ameri- 
cans had no control. 

The time was coming when things were to take a 
turn, for Burgoyne was pouring down from Canada 
with his legions and the great campaign of 1777 was 
at hand. 


262 


The Peace of War 


Thus the time was near when the new banner of 
freedom would float from the roof of Chew’s House, 
and when Mistress Peggy could stand on the steps 
and welcome Washington. 

Germantown, contrary to the boasts of the British, 
did not end the war. There were still to come many 
exciting scenes and daring deeds in which the young 
members of Mad Anthony’s Legion were to take 
part ; but they would never forget the 4th of October 
when, above the roar of battle, and the singing of 
British bullets, they heard The Drums of German- 
town. 


THE END 


* 



APR 22 1912 





